Goblin mode, the beauty of being unpresentable. When sucking becomes a trend

by Letizia Cini

The beauty of being brutalized. Feeling down and showing shamelessly lying like beached sea lions, thrown on the sofa or in the unmade bed, in pajamas, eating greedy foods (Omer Simpson style) with an emaciated face, tousled hair and the rest in disorder. Situation to be ashamed of? Far from it, it seems to be becoming the trend of the moment, which has even given birth to an expression to this went viral: Goblin mode.

Goblin mode: voluntary letting go, rejecting glossy perfection, is a trend fueled by images of Zendaya that drags itself on the floor of the house Euphoria and which is becoming popular on social networks.

What is Goblin mode and what does it mean?

L’hashtag #goblinmode is associated with videos, memes and posts on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook. The expression was already circulating a few years ago, reconstructs the Guardian. And it’s made a comeback as a social trend now, after we’ve come to terms with the pandemic and as we see pictures of the war in Ukraine every day. The use of the expression has been attributed to Julia Fox actress who loves to amaze but who, however, later denied having used it. However, the definition comes from Goblinthat is, those fantasy beings that are not exactly beautiful and, in fact, among those who embrace this new philosophy of life, there are also some disguises with pointy ears.

What is Goblin Mode like?

Declined as a social trend, it now seems to refer to letting go, being unkempt or at least not worrying too much about looksto pass the time without doing anything, for example watching TV or shaking social media.
Just the pandemic had raised the question of staying at home and had cleared the idea of ​​presenting oneself in informal clothes, so much so that overalls and pajamas go crazy. But it’s not just a question of aesthetics.

In the Globin modeit is in fact possible to discern various instances of the spirit of our time: perhaps a reaction to the perfect life that generally flows on social media, the almost obsessive invitation to have a neat appearance and a lifestyle attentive to every detail; an opposition to positivity at all costs, to the mantra that “if you want, you can do it and reach the goal”; perhaps a way to escape from the ugliness of this moment; a continuation of mood da lockdown; perhaps an approach to time that escapes hyper-productivity (think of resigning from work); but the border can be blurred with a depressed state, or at least one of dejection, of estrangement from social life, of discomfort that is expressed in excessive sloppiness.

Why Goblin mode

The Zeta generation, more than any other perhaps, is the one bombarded by glossy models without a thread of cellulite, by tutorials with fifteen steps of skincare routine, by detox diets all celery and smoothies, by theories on the right sleep cycle that woe to interrupt the 90 minutes REM phase, from the workout even at home 5 times a week, by the prodigy boys who at 23 have 6 degrees and are admitted to 49 colleges, all positive, all always happy, be it for the mood, the imperfect body or acne. A lethal mix that makes ostentation of its most powerful weapon, which makes like the real medal. And then the desire to be a Goblin is triggered. The pleasure of sucking. And perhaps, rather than throw ourselves down, we could devote ourselves to idleness, to true relaxation, to regain energy and determination, and face life.

Basically, ‘go into Goblin mode‘means to stop dealing with details such as personal and domestic hygiene, dietary rigor, the aesthetics of clothing, in short, living in pajamas ecumenically stained with milk and sauce: becoming brutalized as if there were no tomorrow …

The witness

“Goblin mode is not a permanent identity, but a state of mind. It’s like when you wake up at 2am and go to the kitchen wearing nothing but a long shirt to have a weird snack – said the person behind the Twitter account. Dave McNamee, indicated as the creator of the recent trend -. It is a complete lack of aesthetics. Why should a Goblin care what he looks like? ”.
“It’s great to be a Goblin – writes another user on Twitter -. Everyone is so perfect online, but it’s nice to get in touch with the strange little creature that lives inside you ”.

For those who want to learn more ilLibraio.it publishes the ironic reflection of the writer Alice Basso, protagonist in the bookstore with ‘A star without light’, the second chapter of the series dedicated to the typist Anita.

And A star without light by Alice Basso

“I don’t know about you, but I started to hear the term Goblin mode popping up a little everywhere and it’s not like I immediately understood exactly what it was. Then they reported this article to me, which in turn mentions this and this, and I understood it (and I also wondered if I didn’t have to worry a bit about the fact that they had reported them to me, as you will guess in a moment).
In essence, going into goblin mode means – let me find some publishable terms, that there is a risk that some of you are reading while eating – stop dealing with trifles such as personal and domestic hygiene, food rigor, aesthetics. of clothing, in short, living in pajamas ecumenically stained with milk and sauce, ignoring plates to be peeled, sheets to change and showers in abandonment trauma, and orbiting like the monkeys in 2001: A Space Odyssey around the only indispensable tool for existence : the laptop.

In short: to become brutalized as if there was no tomorrow, literally as if there was no tomorrow, since it is a modus vivendi that half the world has begun to cultivate since the lockdown, that is, since our beliefs about life, antibodies and everything rest have wavered like Ming vessels at an elbow party, and when life and antibodies lose their meaning and every day could be the eve of the Apocalypse what do you want to matter if you walk around in overalls or rather, after a certain threshold, a jumpsuit goes around with you in it. Now, I’m not a fan of the Goblin mode, but for one thing yes, I have to thank you, this new trend. This customs clearance of how much we can let ourselves go … “

Not

So I discover that ‘I’m goblin mode (which I will continue to call that because you want to put it, it’s like saying “suck all day” but making it look trendy) lately is cloaked in social claims.
That would be to say that a percentage of influencers have started taking photos and videos in goblin mode and writing in the captions not the honest truth, that is, they don’t always want to take two hours and a quarter to wash their hair with sixteen. conditioners and two hair dryers patented by NASA, but slogans like “I claim my right to suck”.

In contrast, of course, to those others influencer – poor retrogrades – who for years have promulgated the “glazed donut aesthetic” (another wonderful expression), that is, they made us believe that you had to be constantly neat and shiny and rosy, wear cute outfits in matching colors as well to do gymnastics at home and, if possible, always have a juice of broccoli and ginger in hand …
I’m not a fan of Goblin mode. I mean, I can very well vegetate in front of a monitor and let the shower wait like a loser suitor, but I’m not very proud of it. But for one thing yes, I have to thank you, this new trend. This customs clearance of how much we can let ourselves go, this having made everyone callus at people with pillow hair and firecracker clothes in the closet ”.