I'm sure that most of you know about that famous meme that is circling the net- a photo divided in two- on top we see three blonde pink barbies with mean faces saying "You can't sit with us" and below is Morticia sipping her tea saying "I don't wan't to."
i love this photo because it is a goth person's life in a nutshell We are different and proud to be so, we belong in another world where beauty and popularity standards are way different and most of all less important to our social life. We find friends and packs based on our sensibility, intelligence and interests, yet we all share that common bond of being Goth. We don't follow a plastic unrealistic, sterile ideal of physical beauty and we don't judge people based on that. Well, at least that is how it should be.
There is a new trend in our different little world that is slowly blurring the border lines that kept us away from the mainstream society we frowned upon. Shallowness and uniform package that would make dear Morticia sick. Of course, our aesthetics and fashion always had some dominant features that we recognized as True Goth and strive to, but being different in any way was the most important thing. That was our trade mark, even among the models. We took pride in being beautiful in our own way. I remember that I could recognize a model just by glancing at her photo, because she had specific eyes, hair, did her makeup in her unique way, had a face you know you won't mistake for somebody else's. And I always believed our alternative modeling scene will be a great gathering point and a sanctuary for all those unique men and women who don't fit the barbie or Ken standards of washed out beauty. That we would never become dolls that are manufactured in million copies, all the same.
But as I take one look at social media, all I see is the same girl. Pastel hair, bright big doll like eyes, lips enlarged by a dark matte lipstick, winged eyeliner "on point" , same facial expressions, same poses, same piercings, same nails.... And they are all a different person! But if I didn't know that, I would say that it is the same girl making tones of photos in different outfits. And I see brands just going crazy over these clones, I see fans adoring them. Don't get me wrong, I am happy for these girls and I am cheering for their success. And just to be clear on the hater comments that might follow- I don't feel threatened by these girls and I don't get any less work or love from my fans. I feel threatened on a different level-I see our world changing into something we ran away from in the first place.
The crazy trend where every single woman wants to look the same, be that pretty girl, and feel less worthy if she is not. And mostly those "Goth" barbies are all fake, wigs, lenses, all kinds of extensions and alterations are made to achieve that urban sexy look, and of course, tons of photo editing that follow. Do we really want this in our subculture? Can we afford to forget all the freedom of style and fashion, ways of expressing ourselves through the way we look? The things that were one of the corner stones of our world? Things we were proud of, things that liberated us from that constant pressure of not looking good enough, not being good enough, if we don't fit a certain mold?
I see models doing this. I know girls who are gorgeous the way they are but in a constant race to get more collaborations and fans they turn themselves into these grey haired kawaii eyed dolls with braids and buns.
It brakes my heart to see all the Morticias and Wednesdays being erased by the new generation of fake clones. In the end, I will mention maybe the most dangerous aspect of the new dolls- they are all very very skinny. This is a discrimination point which we are fighting on every possible battlefield today, and yet we let it slip into our world that was accepting to all body shapes, that praised pinup and full figured beauties just as well as the thing sweet girls.
So, I say no to the barbies, not to the girls personally, but to the trend that is making the world I love a place I don't like.