Post-Soviet Girl, or the Sad Girl Trope

The Future of Girlhood

In the sixth and last episode of the season we delve into the future of girlhood in online culture. Since 2023, the so-called “year of the girl” with trends like girl math, girl dinner, and the Barbie movie’s influence, girlhood has become a widely discussed cultural and theoretical concept. We’ve learned that the figure of the girl has evolved into a digital strategy rather than a fixed identity, one that is shaped by algorithms, aesthetics, and performance. Together with one of the initiators of @everyoneisagirl [https://www.instagram.com/everyoneisagirl] Ester Freider, Lilian Stolk from The Hmm and Mela Miekus from the Institute of Network Cultures explore how femininity is performed online and the end of identity. Mentioned in this episode: Pinkydoll’s NPC TikTok live [https://www.tiktok.com/@bkrmrd/video/7275784264321436961] “Everyone is a Girl” by Alex Quicho [https://www.wired.com/story/girls-online-culture/] @everyoneisagirl on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/everyoneisagirl/] Ghosted 1996 on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/ghosted_1996/?hl=en] Sighswoon on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/sighswoon/?hl=en] “Networks and Their Discontents“ by William Kherbek [https://mapmagazine.co.uk/networks-and-their-discontents] referenced in “I’m Like a Pdf But a Girl“ by Ester Freider [https://www.are.na/block/20684314] “Side-eyeing the cyberbaroque“ by Ester Freider [https://theweeklycentaur.substack.com/p/side-eyeing-the-cyberbaroque] “Hallucinating sense in the era of infinity-content“ by Carolina Busta [https://www.documentjournal.com/2024/05/technical-images-film01-angelicism-art-showtime-true-detective-shein/] Princess Substack highlights [https://everyoneisagirl.substack.com/t/princess] Find The Hmm at: thehmm.nl [https://thehmm.nl] linkin.bio [https://linkin.bio/the-hmm/] Find Ester at: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/stargir1z/] Linktree [https://linktr.ee/esterfreider?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaehvd3Ho9xcSMbLyTPHgF6gOhwPr1kFhRsu0EMNvc8q37x-0qiAO4SrXUVAog_aem_3LPTlirc5yvGYQT2fNC_UQ] Thinking Face Emoji is a podcast by The Hmm [https://thehmm.nl/theme/year-theme-2025/], in collaboration with The Institute of Network Cultures [https://networkcultures.org/], and financially supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL. Jingle and sound design by Jochem van der Hoek [https://ilovebadmusic.net] Editing by Salome Berdzenishvili [https://networkcultures.org/blog/author/salome/] Cover art by Aspirin [https://aspirinx3.com/]

Post-Soviet Girl, or the Sad Girl Trope

In the fifth episode of Thinking Face Emoji, Margarita Osipian from The Hmm and Anielek Niemyjski from the Institute of Network Cultures are joined by writer and independent researcher Salome Berdzenishvili, to discuss the online aesthetic of the post-Soviet sad girl. Together they dissect the sad girl industrial complex to explore how this aesthetic emerged, and how it shapes and reflects the visual and emotional archives of Soviet and post-Soviet eras. Mentioned in this episode: Лана Дель Рей - Летняя Печалька - Lana del Ray Summertime Sadness with voiceover [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aINaXBH7vI] Girl Online - Symposihmm playback [https://live.thehmm.nl/G1RLm0De] Preliminary Materials For a Theory of the Young-Girl by Tiqqun [https://www.semiotexte.com/preliminary-materials-for-a-theory-of-the-younggirl] Becoming and Unbecoming – Eastern European Girlhood Online by Salome Berdzenishvili [https://networkcultures.org/longform/2025/04/23/becoming-and-unbecoming-eastern-european-girlhood-online/] Moy Marmeladny trend on TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/music/%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B3%D1%96%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B9-%D0%B7%D0%B2%D1%83%D0%BA-7226419190784854790] #Slavic Core - TikTok [https://vimeo.com/1077770795?p=1t] Clean girl in a post soviet country TikTok by Sh.Sayadze [https://www.tiktok.com/@sh.sayadze/video/7428256229782211846] How to Become as Intimidating Yet Visually Striking as Brutalist Architecture by Sumayya Bisseret Martinez [https://reductress.com/post/how-to-become-as-intimidating-yet-visually-striking-as-brutalist-architecture/] Mental health walk in Eastern Europe TikTok trend [https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNHgSJevrc9Lc-Usvou/] Eastern European girlhood on Instagram, bikini in puddles compilation [https://vimeo.com/1077981099?p=1t] Find The Hmm at: thehmm.nl [https://thehmm.nl] linkin.bio [https://linkin.bio/the-hmm/] Find Salome at: networkcultures.org/blog/author/salome/ [https://networkcultures.org/blog/author/salome/] Thinking Face Emoji is a podcast by The Hmm [https://thehmm.nl/theme/year-theme-2025/], in collaboration with The Institute of Network Cultures [https://networkcultures.org/], and financially supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL. Jingle and sound design by Jochem van der Hoek [https://ilovebadmusic.net]. Editing by Salome Berdzenishvili [https://networkcultures.org/blog/author/salome/]. Cover art by Aspirin [https://aspirinx3.com/].

Sock, the Bushwick enby

In this episode, Maja Mikulska from The Hmm and Anielek Niemyjski from the Institute of Network Cultures are joined by Maya B. Kronic - co-author of Cute Accelerationism and Head of Research and Development at Urbanomic - to discuss all things Sock. From Bushwick enbies to memes and fancy foot cover-ups, the conversation focuses on what it means to explore gender nonconformity, both online and offline. Mentioned in the episode: Having roommates in Bushwick be like [https://ifunny.co/picture/having-roommates-in-bushwick-be-like-sock-wants-to-know-VV8FfVNx8] Logged On podcast episode with Maya [https://open.spotify.com/episode/1NeZBpiOYUR5XjYRfFPRdJ?si=rDN9H_z5RRmvJsSwSCCqUQ] NB names be like [https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/2290337-nonbinary-names-be-like-sock] Demi Lovato being nonbinary for less than a year [https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNdSEmDVM/] Gender adventure TikToker [https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNd6S7oMf/] Enby barista trend [https://www.tiktok.com/@pattydelux/video/7236208751273970987?_r=1&_t=ZN-8w8VHEteAa6] Socks in queer experience [https://www.reddit.com/r/lgbt/comments/16e1795/this_relatable_meme_i_found_today/] Zettay Ryouiki [https://animevice.fandom.com/wiki/Zettai_Ryouiki] Find The Hmm at: thehmm.nl [https://thehmm.nl] linkin.bio [https://linkin.bio/the-hmm/] Find Maya at: readthis.wtf [http://readthis.wtf] Thinking Face Emoji is a podcast by The Hmm [https://thehmm.nl/theme/year-theme-2025/], in collaboration with The Institute of Network Cultures [https://networkcultures.org/], and financially supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL. Jingle and sound design by Jochem van der Hoek [https://ilovebadmusic.net] Editing by Salome Berdzenishvili [https://networkcultures.org/blog/author/salome/] Cover art by Aspirin [https://aspirinx3.com/]

Gigachad, or the Surge of Nu-genics

In the third episode of Thinking Face Emoji, Margarita Osipian from The Hmm and researcher Mita Medri, are joined by writer and cultural commentator Ana Sumbo, to discuss the online phenomenon of looksmaxxing. Hunter vs prey eyes, the canthal tilt, siren vs. doe eyes, angel vs witch skull, or a FYP filled with Gigachad jawlines. This is the landscape, or some might say cesspool, of looksmaxxing. With its incel-verse undertones and radical history, we discuss whether this phenomenon is just another glow-up trend or is it signaling a resurgence in eugenics? Mentioned in this episode: “men used to go to war” | TikTok clip from Kareem Shami [https://www.tiktok.com/@syrianpsycho/video/7458396943103020334] The Slow Burn Back to Eugenics by Ana Sumbo [https://theoreticalsirens.substack.com/p/the-slow-burn-back-to-eugenics] The Digital Legacy of Eugenics project by Lila Brustad [https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prejudice-in-power/co-creation-projects/digital-legacy-eugenics] Rage against the machine: how incel culture went mainstream in 2023 by Günseli Yalcinkaya [https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/61666/1/rage-against-the-machine-how-incel-culture-went-mainstream-in-2023] Predatory Data: Eugenics in Big Tech and Our Fight for an Independent Future by Anita Chan [https://www.ucpress.edu/books/predatory-data/paper] I tried all of the most popular looksmaxxing glowup tips! | TikTok clip from Michael Hoover [https://www.tiktok.com/@.michaelhoover/video/7345636051689524522?] Deathnics thread on looksmax.org [https://looksmax.org/threads/does-anyone-else-get-annoyed-in-the-presence-of-deathnics.888709/] Yassified Eugenics by Abha Ahad [https://www.girlonline.in/p/yassified-eugenics] POV: How the SS officers pulled up to the Nuremberg trials | TikTok clip from Kareem Shafti [https://www.tiktok.com/@schoolofmogwarts/photo/7488381355491904790] Are you the hunter or the hunted? | Instagram video from @rawreturned [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHmDCZyNZhO/?igsh=OTR0ajdtZzRoOHFj] Lard of estrogen | Instagram video from @nickfraserrrrr [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DH_b79jR2qV/?igsh=MTM4Znp4dGNmM2xiYg==] Find The Hmm at: thehmm.nl [https://thehmm.nl] linkin.bio [https://linkin.bio/the-hmm/] Find Ana at: Substack [https://theoreticalsirens.substack.com/] Thinking Face Emoji is a podcast by The Hmm [https://thehmm.nl/theme/year-theme-2025/], in collaboration with The Institute of Network Cultures [https://networkcultures.org/], and financially supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL. Jingle and sound design by Jochem van der Hoek [https://ilovebadmusic.net]. Editing by Salome Berdzenishvili [https://networkcultures.org/blog/author/salome/]. Cover art by Aspirin [https://aspirinx3.com/].

Sigma Male, or How Incel Terms Went Mainstream

In this episode Salome Berdzenishvili, from the Institute of Network Cultures, and Sjef van Beers, from The Hmm, talk to Dr. Daniël de Zeeuw, from the University of Amsterdam’s department of Mediastudies, about how terms originally associated with incel and femcel communities seem to have reached the mainstream. Mentioned in this episode: “‘Teh Internet is Serious Business’: On the Deep Vernacular Web Imaginary and its Discontents“ [https://oilab.eu/publication-teh-internet-is-serious-business-on-the-deep-vernacular-web-imaginary-and-its-discontents/] Based and confused: Tracing the political connotations of a memetic phrase across the web [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/20539517231163175] Find The Hmm at: thehmm.nl [https://thehmm.nl] link in bio [https://linkin.bio/the-hmm/] Find Daniël at: bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/ddzeeuw.bsky.social] uva.nl [https://www.uva.nl/en/profile/z/e/d.dezeeuw/d.dezeeuw.html] Thinking Face Emoji is a podcast by The Hmm, in collaboration with The Institute of Network Cultures, and financially supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL. Jingle and sound design by Jochem van der Hoek. Editing by Salome Berdzenishvili [https://networkcultures.org/blog/2024/12/04/grwm-in-an-attempt-to-deoligarchise-georgia/]. Cover art by Aspirin [https://aspirinx3.com/].