“The more effort and calculation put into the performance, the harder it becomes to portray oneself as one desires, so if you think it’s giving Didion or Babitz, you are delusional.”
“The more effort and calculation put into the performance, the harder it becomes to portray oneself as one desires, so if you think it’s giving Didion or Babitz, you are delusional.”
I think I'm too far outside of the media ecosystem to appreciate most of the references, which definitely made it harder to follow. I realize this series is about hating, but I after reading this piece I am genuinely interested in learning more about which female writers the author does like.
Cultivated personality is a slippery thing - it's easy to cast as judgement.
Most of the hate-reads so far register as satire but I can't tell with this one. Is the prose some kind art-imitating-interesting-girl-life meta commentary? If you're writing this pretentiously in earnest I'd wager you don't actually want people to understand you, so that you can then turn around and say "see, you just don't get it". Or perhaps the joke is on me – maybe I'm just an "interesting girl".
TS being a Marnie has to be one of the most accurate descriptions I’ve read about her. I would go farther and say most of her fans are Marnie’s as well, which is why they find her so relatable.
ooooooooh!!!!! this was the spiciest read tho honorable mention to boygenius hater
On first read I parsed this as “it’s futile to perform cool because if your craft is amazing, you’ll be read as culturally valuable. It’s kinda ew watching grown women engage in the performance of being interesting girls while overplaying being supportive to others they deem non threateningly aligned to their brand…beyond actually being so…for the goal of being envied vs engaging in what they wanna”
Personally I think being envied is so fun, but you can’t manufacture envy from those of substance without actually having some yourself. I give myself the ick saying this, but I also identify as a Jessa. I think it’s because I do and say what I love! That’s what being cool should be, and I am not entirely sure it’s possible to be an IT IT girl now because the performance is so self directed, it’s self started. Nobody is papping these girls because they’re doing it themselves on social while pretending to be nonchalant. That faux nonchalance is weak!
I kind of loved feeling humiliated about saying I am a Jessa lol. Like it’s not a read if you’re not read. Some Marnie Suns may feel cut up by this.
This feels so impenetrable as prose. Is the intent to make this inscrutably inside baseball so no one actually knows who or what it's about? Who even are these "literary cool girls" vs. actual writers? Are you talking about women who take shelfies for social media? I'm lost and I guess that's the point. PS - I actually work as a writer but not part of the Substack circle jerk so maybe missing something here. Maybe that actually makes me interesting and unbothered!
This was the oddest thing to read as someone who has only recently become aware of Calloway. I've never seen Girls, which is where the archetypes are coming from I think. Yeah, ok, I googled it so as to avoid getting smashed in the comments.
I can recognize a talented writer when I see one, though, and from that perspective I enjoyed reading this.
I wrote a short piece when I read the Lili Anolik profile of Calloway in VF and I'm really curious about how Anolik got snowed by Calloway given that Anolik's last piece for VF was on Babitz if I'm not mistaken.
I think I'm too far outside of the media ecosystem to appreciate most of the references, which definitely made it harder to follow. I realize this series is about hating, but I after reading this piece I am genuinely interested in learning more about which female writers the author does like.
Cultivated personality is a slippery thing - it's easy to cast as judgement.
I thought the criticism of Oyler was because of her lack of craft and style, i.e. the ultimately empty quality of the essays?
Most of the hate-reads so far register as satire but I can't tell with this one. Is the prose some kind art-imitating-interesting-girl-life meta commentary? If you're writing this pretentiously in earnest I'd wager you don't actually want people to understand you, so that you can then turn around and say "see, you just don't get it". Or perhaps the joke is on me – maybe I'm just an "interesting girl".
TS being a Marnie has to be one of the most accurate descriptions I’ve read about her. I would go farther and say most of her fans are Marnie’s as well, which is why they find her so relatable.
If Lauren Oyler is true interesting then I'll stick with Emrata
ooooooooh!!!!! this was the spiciest read tho honorable mention to boygenius hater
On first read I parsed this as “it’s futile to perform cool because if your craft is amazing, you’ll be read as culturally valuable. It’s kinda ew watching grown women engage in the performance of being interesting girls while overplaying being supportive to others they deem non threateningly aligned to their brand…beyond actually being so…for the goal of being envied vs engaging in what they wanna”
Personally I think being envied is so fun, but you can’t manufacture envy from those of substance without actually having some yourself. I give myself the ick saying this, but I also identify as a Jessa. I think it’s because I do and say what I love! That’s what being cool should be, and I am not entirely sure it’s possible to be an IT IT girl now because the performance is so self directed, it’s self started. Nobody is papping these girls because they’re doing it themselves on social while pretending to be nonchalant. That faux nonchalance is weak!
I kind of loved feeling humiliated about saying I am a Jessa lol. Like it’s not a read if you’re not read. Some Marnie Suns may feel cut up by this.
But Jenna was a loser. I don't think you were supposed to empathize with, let alone aspire to be any of those characters.
What is the second person essay that the author is referring to here? Seems like it's the key to understanding this whole piece.
This feels so impenetrable as prose. Is the intent to make this inscrutably inside baseball so no one actually knows who or what it's about? Who even are these "literary cool girls" vs. actual writers? Are you talking about women who take shelfies for social media? I'm lost and I guess that's the point. PS - I actually work as a writer but not part of the Substack circle jerk so maybe missing something here. Maybe that actually makes me interesting and unbothered!
This was the oddest thing to read as someone who has only recently become aware of Calloway. I've never seen Girls, which is where the archetypes are coming from I think. Yeah, ok, I googled it so as to avoid getting smashed in the comments.
I can recognize a talented writer when I see one, though, and from that perspective I enjoyed reading this.
I wrote a short piece when I read the Lili Anolik profile of Calloway in VF and I'm really curious about how Anolik got snowed by Calloway given that Anolik's last piece for VF was on Babitz if I'm not mistaken.
The only think to do is move to Minneapolis and work for an obscure non-profit
kierkegaard said it best — a girl who craves the interesting becomes the trap in which she herself is caught
I worked at the URBN corporate headquarters in Philadelphia for 7 years. I can see them coming from a mile away.
I think I’m a Lena Dunham, and I’m definitely not cool.
desperately wanting to know who the unnamed substacker is lolll im nosy
why narc yourself?