AnaΓ―s Nin, from a diary entry featured in Trapeze: The Unexpurgated Diary of Anais Nin, 1947-1955
βThere were days when she was very happy without knowing why. She was happy to be alive and breathing, when her whole being seemed to be one with the sunlight, the color, the odors, the luxuriant warmth of some perfect Southern day. She liked then to wander alone into strange and unfamiliar places. She discovered many a sunny, sleepy corner, fashioned to dream in. And she found it good to dream and to be alone and unmolested.There were days when she was unhappy, she did not know whyβwhen it did not seem worth while to be glad or sorry, to be alive or dead; when life appeared to her like a grotesque pandemonium and humanity like worms struggling blindly toward inevitable annihilationβ
β Kate Chopin, The Awakening
compilation
Take Me Back To Eden, Sleep Token
Why are British teenage girls so unhappy? Hereβs the answer (Caitlin Moran, The Times, Sep 13 2024)
"The report, by the Childrenβs Society, found that British 15-year-old girls are the most unhappy in Europe.
British girls aged 10-15 are βsignificantly less happyβ with their life, appearance, family and school than the average boy β and their happiness is still declining.
Boysβ life satisfaction, meanwhile, remains broadly stable. (β¦)
But I still didnβt have an βaha!β moment about why this so disproportionately affects girls untilβ¦ I talked to some teenage girls.
It was at a party, and I went to vape with them on the patio. Because I take my nicotine like children do.
βDuh β itβs the boys,β one said when I brought it up, as all the others agreed.
βThe boys?β I asked.
My last book, What About Men?, had been all about how much boys struggle these days: their loneliness; their suicide rates. Iβd spent the past year feeling very sympathetic towards boys.
βYeah, well, who do you think theyβre taking out their unhappiness on? Itβs us,β another girl said.
βOne boy at school used to draw a picture every day of how ugly I was,β a third girl said. βEvery day for two years.β
βTheyβve all got βRate The Girlsβ polls on their WhatsApps,β the first said. βThey mark you down for weight gain, haircuts, what you say.β
βBut then, if youβre hot, itβs just as bad, in a different way, because theyβll be talking about how they want to f*** you.β
The girls discussed coping techniques. Bad news: none of them worked.
βThe only way you can stop them is if you become βone of the boysβ and hang out with them. But then,β the second girl said with a sigh, βall the other girls call you a slut. Because youβve gone over to the boysβ side.β
βSurely itβs not all the boys?β I said. βThere must be some nice boys?β
βOh, yeah,β one girl said. βBut they keep their heads down. Becauseβ¦ well, look.β
She showed me the Instagram account of her friend. Under every picture she posted of herself β smiling in a new dress; with her dog β dozens of anonymous accounts had replied with the most rank abuse.
βFat.β βSlut.β βYou gonna try and kill yourself again, for attention?β
βTheyβre all boys from her school,β she said. βAnd look, this one boy tried to defend her.β
I saw a series of messages from a brave teenage boy, posting things like, βYouβre all big men, leaving these replies under anonymous accounts.β
As I could see, this boy immediately became a target too. Mainly accusations that he was βwhite knightingβ this girl: βYou wanna f*** her, bro?β
βSo,β I asked, βyou donβt think itβs social media pressure to be beautiful, or the economy, thatβs making girls so sad?β
βWell, yeah, them too,β the first girl said. βBut, Monday-Friday, 9-3, Iβm not on social media. Iβm notβ¦ in the economy. Iβm just with these boys. And no one talks about how horrible they are.β
I thought about another recent report, showing a 30 per cent ideological gap between Gen Z men, who are increasingly conservative, and Gen Z women, who are increasingly progressive.
I thought about Andrew Tate, who has nine million mostly young male followers β and faces human trafficking charges, which he denies.
And I thought: maybe these girls are on to something. Maybe more people need to vape with teenage girls and ask them for the school gossip."
Endless gifs of Edwina Sharma - 5/β
Iris van Herpen 'Architectonics' Fall 2023 Haute Couture Collection
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGONΒ (2025) dir. Dean DeBlois
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGONΒ (2010) dir. Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders
oo whats the first song in ur spotify top songs with a number in it?? mine is 360 by charli xcx
FRIENDS β 10.03: The One With Ross' Tan
DARKLINA WEEK 2021 π β³ DAY ONE: SONG LYRICS
I can still hear you saying You would never break the chain Chain, keep us together
βThe Chain, Fleetwood Mac