Welcome home, fellow freaks ✨ I’m Maya, and I’m happy you’re here.
From books to media, I consume a lot of content. Ironically, the idea of creating my own content makes me cringe. I’m cringing as I type this. But the show must go on.
I’m pushing myself to create more, starting by sharing the weird things I love each week. I’m also working on a novel at the moment, so I might as well get used to the mortifying ordeal of being known. Hope you enjoy the ride!
P.S. You don’t have to be a girl to read this newsletter, but you DO have to be a weirdo <3
Content Warning: Mentions of stalking.
The Horrors of Being a Female Artist in the Age of TikTok
There’s pre-show jitters, and then there’s this. Ella Baxter’s Woo Woo takes the terror of being perceived to a whole new level. The novel follows ever-so-eccentric and TikTok-obsessed artist Sabine in the week leading up to her highly anticipated gallery opening.
Baxter adeptly tackles themes like the weight of cultural relevance, the crushing expectations of commercial success as an artist, the ongoing performance of womanhood, and oh yeah—a super creepy stalker, too.
After reading the book, I learned that the author had firsthand experience with being stalked. In true icon fashion, she even included an acknowledgment to her stalker in the Acknowledgements section of Woo Woo. In an interview with Interview Magazine, she said,
“It’s like, you’ve got to have the story to support the art. They’re also mushed such that there’s no separation—art and life are one. They’re completely tessellated. As I was writing Woo Woo, I was still being stalked. So it was this kind of triad—the book, the stalker and me—all feeding each other.”
While the novel can definitely be read as a satire of the art world (and believe me, it packs a punch with some funny IYKYK moments) at it’s core, it encapsulates the horrors of what it means to create as a woman in today’s day and age. The double standards. The constant scrutiny. The added pressure to perform via social media.
It asks us to question the relationship between creating and consuming, and why we’re drawn to mindlessly consume the content of others in a cycle of devouring that seemingly never stops.
“She followed women 15 years younger than her as they paraded their Shein hauls for the camera… People reorganizing their fridges with labelled, transparent containers…She looked at the world that kept existing free of her own torment, existing in the slipstream of more and more and more content.”
Baxter’s novel is a haunting reminder that life imitates art, and art imitates life. It’s all connected, no matter how absurd, scary, or beautiful things get.
Wake Up, the Girls Are Knowledgemaxxing
I was scrolling through my YouTube feed when a video titled “How To Create Your Personal Curriculum!” stopped me in my tracks. Are the girls yearning to go back to school, or is this deeper than that?
As someone who tends to have a bunch of rotating hyperfixations, my first thought was that creating a personal curriculum seems strangely formal. Maybe I feel this way because that’s how the algorithms have shaped me. Maybe it’s Maybelline. I digress.
While it’s in some ways meta and ironic that this has become an internet trend, it’s refreshing to see hobbies that build lasting skills being celebrated at this scale. Plus, it’s a nice change of pace from the shallow consumerism we’ve grown accustomed to seeing so much of (here’s a great deep dive on the recent boo baskets trend, for example).
The movement coincides with a shift I’ve been discussing with friends lately. After years of sky-high screen times, many of us are relishing in a gradual return of the analog. Let’s face it. Nothing can truly replace putting pen to paper, combing through the pages of a book, or putting in a little extra effort to flip a record over.
Nicole Pereira’s observations of the trend were spot-on in a recent Polyester Zine article:
“In this scholarly nook, the Internet pendulum has swung so far away from brain-rot culture that users are building communities within which research methodologies and literary interests have become pastimes and areas of peacefulness. Composed largely of Gen Z creators - the true first generation of digital natives - one questions the correlation between AI fatigue, the state of being chronically online, and a genuine fear of media illiteracy, marching the movement towards intellectual growth.”
TL;DR: the girls are yearning for knowledge and a desire to build lifelong skills, not just quick dopamine hits. And who knows. In a world inundated with brain rot, AI slop, and misinformation, knowledgemaxxing might actually help save us.
Prolific author Joyce Carol Oates spared no expense with her poignant remarks and sick burns on Twitter (I refuse to call it X).
It all began with this quote-tweet observation about Elon Musk:
“So curious that such a wealthy man never posts anything that indicates that he enjoys or is even aware of what virtually everyone appreciates— scenes from nature, pet dog or cat, praise for a movie, music, a book (but doubt that he reads); pride in a friend’s or relative’s accomplishment; condolences for someone who has died; pleasure in sports, acclaim for a favorite team; references to history. In fact he seems totally uneducated, uncultured. The poorest persons on Twitter may have access to more beauty & meaning in life than the 'most wealthy person in the world."
The tweet quickly went viral, and Musk responded by calling her a liar. He also attempted to prove how cultured of a film bro he is (?) in a series of very amusing tweets that followed. Check out this article for a full timeline of the madness.
Not gonna lie, between this delicious Twitter exchange and the knowledgemaxxing trend, it feels like nature is healing. Speaking of nature…
Weird Girl of the Week: Mother Nature in Smiling Friends
The more weird girls we have in this world, the better. For that reason, I’ll highlight a different “weird girl” each week!
Care for some monstrous feminine, anyone? In season 3, episode 5 of Smiling Friends, “Pim and Charlie Save Mother Nature,” Pim and Charlie wander into the forest in search of The Brown Blur—an elusive local cryptid.
Lured by the possibility of snagging a rare photo and cashing in, they eventually run into Mother Nature herself on their travels.
She’s as pleasant as can be…until she isn’t. Watch for yourself to see how it all unfolds. For all you cryptid lovers out there, Mothman also makes a guest appearance.
That’s all folks. If you’ve read all the way through, you’re a real one! 🫡
Stay tuned for next week, and remember to stay weird.
Pssst…if you’re feeling fancy…follow me on Instagram.👇