ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the figures who epitomise the Sad Girl, including the singer Lana Del Rey and internet philosopher Audrey Wollen. The Sad Girl is core to a new brand of feminism and philosophy that defines the performance of mood online, revealing both why young women are so sad and how sadness can actually be a way of releasing negative affect and protesting wrongdoing rather than wallowing in non-action. Sad Girls make art, clothing, and philosophy about the power of their emotions. While sites like Tumblr allow for Sad Girl culture to develop via a folksonomy, there are also websites entirely devoted to projects of performing sadness. A major website for the Sad Girl is the Sad Girls Guide, a magazine-style publication with a logo consisting of a sad face with love heart eyes. Audrey Wollen’s ‘Sad Girl theory’ is a complex philosophical discourse that spreads across her art, political activism, and social media presence.
