Part 7/13:
She highlights how Victorian women’s responses to societal expectations and their own desires mirror those of modern women on TikTok: expressing dissatisfaction, asserting independence, or crafting narratives that make their loneliness more palatable.
Modern Women’s Pandemic of Self-Sabotage
Modern examples include women lamenting the lack of dates, relationships, or economic stability. One TikTok features a woman boasting about being “undesirable,” but framing it as a form of liberation—“I don’t have to please anyone”—a “superpower” that results from social rejection. These confessions often veer into self-deprecating humor or cope with societal pressures by denying their own longing for partnership.