Content Warning: self-harm, eating disorders, drug abuse, mental illness, hospitalisation
For me, the glorification of this aesthetic was born out of Skins, the well-known and, well, fucked up. Skins and Tumblr often converge in my brain to form a strange and morbid mosaic of suffering, desire and the female body. At the time, trauma and its aftermath suggested adventure and making the most out of your teenage years, that if you wanted boys to fall in love with you you’d probably end up distraught, but, being mentally scarred attracted boys. The story development was this: a girl has a dangerous past history, because of it she’s mysterious, and because she’s mysterious the boys want to know more. In some shape or form, they try to save her, and who doesn’t love that story?
Although not a central character for the first two seasons, Effy Stonem is probably the most notorious character in Skins. Even today, Effy’s voice is pertinent to the glorified female trauma argument, as her character monologues grace TikToks; people still idolise her. Effy’s character arc was plagued by struggle and trauma that saw her transform from a wildish young girl who acted out, to hospitalised with severe depression and schizophrenia. During her first appearances, she’s silent, forced to see a counsellor for withholding speech which sets her up with a complicated and scarred past. In her final season, she recovers speedily from her hospitalisation and is seemingly able to begin a new life.
Effy’s experience was romanticised because of the men she attracted. Both Cook and Freddie continuously attempt to save her and people desperately dreamt of having partners who would do the same for them. Effy was continually traumatised throughout Skins but not for the sake of her own character development, instead, she served to humanise and develop Cook and Freddie. The more audiences didn’t understand her, the more we loved those boys for trying so hard to help her. Effy’s character development was reduced to sensationalist events for the depth of a male character.
This didn’t start with Skins and nor did it die with it. Trauma is a gendered device in the media, often used to show how much a man can endure and overcome whilst creating a girl who is in need of rescuing. There will never be a complete departure from this, however, the trauma narrative has been cemented as ever-popular by Skins’ distant and younger cousin, Euphoria, although perhaps in a less gendered way. A show that initially started out as a sensationalised view of American teenagers today, the second season’s narrative confirmed that the single thread that ties the show together is trauma. Whether it be the trauma of the characters or the audience, the rehashing of the teenage trauma show feeds into the aestheticisation in a way that sees audiences revel in the beauty and lives of the characters. Most people marvel at the fashion and makeup before they even consider the narrative.
Speaking of the final episode, director and creator Sam Levinson stated that he hoped the audience felt “like they had been through it” themselves, but this perpetuates a drive to traumatise characters solely to make an impact on the viewer and not to serve character development. Viewers are continuously worn down and this season saw a surge in discourse of people giving up on the show on account of it. People didn’t want to be re-traumatised every week, and no one was safe from the breadth of trauma the show offers. Notably, the absolute focus on shock and trauma saw fan favourite, Jules, be largely left out of season two altogether.
Trauma narratives that resist character development always catch public attention due to aestheticisation. In making shows glamorous, and the cast unattainably hot, viewers are immediately trapped into the lives and trauma of the characters through attraction.
Skins ended so long ago now that we can consider the differences the narrative may have held today. But a focus on fashion, sex and romance amongst teens always seems to glorify toxic and traumatising behaviour in a way that is unhealthy, especially as teen shows will always attract younger teenagers. Ultimately, it sets up a complicated and dangerous view of life and the way we view hardship. Trauma is enshrined in beauty which is unrealistic and harmful. This isn’t to say that TV shouldn’t traumatise their characters, but shows should give their characters other things besides their trauma; make them a whole person before you continuously knock them down, and then maybe audiences will stay.