A male perspective on Tumblr Girls could have been huge. Could it finally be Tumblr Girls being seen? Could they gain recognition in mainstream culture for the very real complexities of their struggles? I see the title of G-Eazy’s video and I’m thrilled. “Oh, look how perfect their lives are.” “Everyone looks so happy, they’re doing so well. The severity of anxiety and depression amongst the very young is at an all-time high, but from Facebook and Instagram you’d never imagine that for a second. So you can imagine how I wanted to increase awareness of Tumblr to the older generations. “Girls work on their looks, not their minds, because they know boys are stupid, not blind.” “But boys don’t fall in love with the sad girls.” “The only thing I’m good at is destroying myself.” You get rainy cities, rustic woods, tons of smoke seeping from young lips, and girls with their eyes covered up by the words “I’m fine.” You get grunge party girls passed out in ripped tights and Doc Martins. You get some Lana del Ray and Sky Ferreira, queens of glamour tragedy. You get a few GIFs of the dark couple Violet and Tate from the first season of American Horror Story (Violet’s a cutter).
(Effie’s most popular: “Why bother? Caring about people.”) Those characters were on air in 2007 (Effie through 2010) and still they express emotions that current programming in the United States hasn’t managed to do. Skins characters rule Tumblr, particularly Effie, for her manic depression, and often Cassie, for her anorexia and Luna Lovegood-like quirky isolation. It is a deanpan “fuck you” amongst the eternal smile of the rest. Tumblr welcomes the dark, the sick, the broken. Generation Y had Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest – all social media that, contrary to Tumblr, expects good news, bright shiny faces, and perfect lives.
I realized that over the age of 20, there really wasn’t much recognition that this world even existed. I had gotten a decent hold of my issues, but I couldn’t abandon this world where so many people were hurting. But as I grew a little older, instead of outgrowing Tumblr, I grew more connected. Most of them struggle with eating disorders, self harm issues, and serious suicidal thoughts (I know, I was among them). It’s 99% run by sad teenage girls who are pretending to be happy IRL. I’ve been on Tumblr since I was a teenager. When I first saw the title of the video, I was extremely excited. This week, G-Eazy released a music video called Tumblr Girls, featuring cuts of beautiful sad actresses mixed with actual posts from Tumblr.
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