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| Meta Title | It Girls Posting Themselves on the Toilet |
| Meta Description | Dadaist Thirst Traps and the Creative Risk of Acting Normal |
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| Boilerpipe Text | From @emmachamberlain on Instagram
We all wanted Instagram to be casual again, so we made it so, arm extended, doe-eyed in the .5 lens. Snap. This isnât news, any more than the idea that we âperformâ on social media is. Whether we curate sweatily or coolly doesnât matter; itâs all considered a performance now.
âPerformativeâ is a stand-in for âphony,â âpretentious,â or even âthoughtful,â among kids. One of my little sisterâs friends saw a skateboard leaning against the wall in my apartment and dubbed it âperformative.â The skateboard is performing. Itâs tap-dancing, cane in hand, Vaudeville-style, by simply being there. Never mind that itâs a one-bedroom apartment with little closet or garage space. Never mind that thereâs no space for the skateboard other than wheels up on the wall by the front door, and not the bedroom or bathroom, because why would I put it there? Everything says something, which says something, which says something.
I tread carefully in LAâs eastside neighborhoods, aware of the eyes on and off me as I wait for my coffee. Aware of what people may think Iâm saying without saying anything. One time, my boyfriend tied my shoe for me on the sidewalk, and I saw someone take a picture. I donât even bring my book to my solo lunches because someone could snipe it, only for me to see myself reflected back at myself as entertainment on Pinterest or Instagram Reels. Am I a self-appointed dancing monkey, or the star of
The Madison Show,
the audience unbeknownst to me? Should I slice my skin,
Ex Machina
(2014) style, and see if any marionette strings snap?
Weâve all accepted that social media is as much a project in personal branding as it is a means to keep us entertained. And an important part of everyoneâs brand, even in an indirect way, is to convey attractiveness. The traditional âthirst trapâ once made this all so simple, communicating a sincerity as pure and bright as fresh-fallen snow. Cleavage, muscles, flat stomach, cheekbones, teeth, all captured in the mirror of a hotel bathroom, maybe even with the flash on for some reason. Or something more tender, a selfie, naturally lit from the mid-day sun, freckles and cheek dimples shown, hair tastefully coiffed.
Thereâs something so tender about an unabashed display of oneâs best self.
Hello world, here I come,
says the thirst trap.
What do you think?
The
colloquial iPhone selfie somehow reminds me of the nineteenth-century daguerreotype, which was the first publicly available photographic process. Rather than shelling out tens of dollars and posing for hours to days on end for an oil painting, one could spend a mere $0.50 or so to have their portrait captured in mere seconds by a daguerreotype plate. Lightweight tintypes and
carte de visites
served as early forms of social media, enabling a wide demographic to carry, store, and share pocket-sized photos of family and friends. One could now document their children growing up. I can imagine people rushing to have their parentsâ and grandparentsâ portraits captured. Humans have long been concerned with immortalizing their likeness and the likeness of their loved ones.
But now the soft, silvery edges have grown too sharp. Like a mirror image perfectly reflected off a still, murky lake, the iPhone image is too exact without being real. Too uncanny. To share a conventional, beautiful image as a beautiful person is to say nothing interesting. It merely maintains a canon. All the beautiful people we know and donât know have smartphone cameras and a basic understanding of lighting and angles. Now what? Being beautiful on the internet is as humdrum as being âfunnyâ on the internet. Itâs going to take a bit more than just that.
Fountain,
1917, by Marcel Duchamp. Photograph by Alfred Stieglitz
In response to the horrors of World War I, the Dadaist art movement of the early twentieth century served to challenge social conventions, making art that intentionally shocked, confused, or outraged people. The Dadaists deemed their work âanti-artâ art, laying fertile ground to inspire surrealist, pop, and performance artists like DalĂ, Warhol, and Kaufman.
One of the most iconic works of Dadaism is Marcel Duchampâs
Fountain,
a porcelain urinal signed âR. Mutt.â In April 1917, Duchamp submitted the urinal to the Society of Independent Artistsâ inaugural exhibition, and it was accepted, as the Society ruled that all works would be accepted from artists who paid the entry fee. The work, however, was never placed in the show area.
When asked to explain the purpose of the readymade sculpture, Duchamp shared that the artistâs act of choice raises an everyday object to the dignity of a work of art. In other words, by staging and exhibiting a urinal as one would a fine oil painting, it becomes a work of art. This became a hallmark of the Dadaist tradition: pushing the bounds of what constitutes âartâ in the art world.
Nearly a century later, the Dadaist tradition endures digitally, via deep-fried images of SpongeBob and a fuzzy photo of Hilary Clinton that reads
âFuck My Life. Bottom Text.â
If early meme formats like Bad Luck Brian and Grumpy Cat represent classical fine art, a blurry image of a horse staring out to sea with the caption âManâ serves as its Dadaist equivalent. These images are baked in layers of irony, lacking any discernible setup or punchline. Theyâre created with the intention to baffle and confuse, undoubtedly stemming, in part, from a state of political and social disillusionment. A world in which videos of law enforcement brutalizing Americans, TikTok dances, GRWM videos, and excerpts from Epstein files exist within the same session of scrolling. A Gen Z Instagram feed is already absurd enough, requiring heightened levels of nonsense to compete with the crazy.
Enter the Dadaist thirst trap: it girls posting themselves on the toilet. I canât be the only one getting bombarded by this. Kourtney Kardashian, Emma Chamberlain, Tana Mongeau, Alex Consani, Gabbriette. The image is tucked away, either in the middle or at the tail end of an Instagram carousel. The photoâs subject - the it girl - looks fabulous, hair and makeup done up. Chic outfit on top and around her ankles. The catch is that sheâs on the toilet, pants or skirt pulled down, conveying an expression of surprise, boredom, or sensuality.
Whether or not the girl is defecating or not is besides the point. She poses for the iPhone, mouth agape, tongue-in-cheek. The photo is always taken by a second party, also in the bathroom with her, introducing a subsequent layer of intrigue. The whole catch is that sheâs using the toilet, a vulnerable, unsanitary act, but sheâs still hot. Sheâs using the toilet, and youâre still attracted to her. Sheâs playing with social media community guidelines. Sheâs ensnared you.
It girls posting themselves on the toilet is the final boss of post-ironic self-expression online. Itâs vulnerability and sarcasm, which is also vulnerability, tightly enmeshed. Sincerity and irony collapsed. It âworksâ precisely because itâs so inaccessible. The toilet is one of the most lowly places to look sexy, if you can manage it there, you can manage it anywhere.
The posting trend reminds me of Gucciâs FW26 show, creative director Demnaâs debut season with the house, which featured members of the
Brat
entourage strutting in ultra-tight, glitter mini dresses and stilettos. The emphasis of the collection, at least for womenswear: body, body, body. Like the toilet images, these dresses hide nothing and expose everything, relying less on tailoring and more on the physique of the wearer to succeed.
Alex Consani and Gabbriette on the toilet via @gabbriette on Instagram / Emily Ratajkowski and Gabbriette walking for Gucci FW26
Brat
introduced internet post-irony to the masses, which is something Charli XCX herself is quite conscious of. In
her interview on
the goop podcast
,
Charli shares that sheâs fascinated by her art (which often adopts a playful shade of snark) intermixing with capitalism (which often disguises itself as sincere), commenting on how âinterestingâ it is to see brands, like Pret A Manger, incorporate the visual language of
Brat
into their marketing.
The once-subversive visual language of
Brat
has long been removed from its original context and is now regurgitated haphazardly across every medium. Super Bowl ads, the chalkboard menu at a mom-and-pop sandwich shop, homemade Etsy shirts with narrow Ariel font, you name it. This is perhaps an inevitable outcome of an artist achieving a certain level of commercial success.
Given this, I think it was quite wise for Charliâs follow-up to
Brat
to be something as straightforward and devoid of snark as her
Wuthering Heights
album. The album is still distinctly her, dancey and flush with club-ready synths, but also tempered with romantic strings and a gushy âlove is beautiful, love is painfulâ lyrical ethos. Itâs a more classic pop album than
Brat
and more direct and digestible in its messaging. In other words, it feels diametrically opposed to it girls posting themselves on toilets, and the turn that I think more artists will be taking on the heels of this caustic chapter.
A few weeks ago, Clare Frances bravely asserted that
âthe swaggiest you can be is normal.â
This comment was made in the context of the 2026 Grammys, in which Harry Styles presented the trophy for Album of the Year in maybe his most ironic ensemble yet: a Jonathan Anderson Dior womenâs blazer, ill-fitting jeans, and mint green ballet flats that appear to be melting off his feet. The outfit almost read as disrespectful, especially when compared to Album of the Year winner Bad Bunny, who wore a beautifully tailored Schiaparelli suit. Waist snatched, beard trimmed, white flower pinned on his lapel - classically stunning. This is the direction I hope our visual politics trends toward in the coming year. Romantic, handsome, serious. Proud, loud, laying it all out in the open.
Being clever is cool, but being honest is coolest. Iâm growing tired of everything being mummified in layers of wit if it means sacrificing honesty. You cannot say something by saying something by saying something if there is no truth at the center. The boldest thing one can do, now more than ever, is just outright
say something
.
Bad Bunny and Harry Styles at the 68th Grammy Awards (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
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# It Girls Posting Themselves on the Toilet
### Dadaist Thirst Traps and the Creative Risk of Acting Normal
[](https://substack.com/@madisonhuizinga)
[Madison Huizinga](https://substack.com/@madisonhuizinga)
Mar 08, 2026
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[](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Z6os!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F25d602ea-2b89-4a78-a634-6c59a6669e05_1179x1822.jpeg)
From @emmachamberlain on Instagram
We all wanted Instagram to be casual again, so we made it so, arm extended, doe-eyed in the .5 lens. Snap. This isnât news, any more than the idea that we âperformâ on social media is. Whether we curate sweatily or coolly doesnât matter; itâs all considered a performance now.
âPerformativeâ is a stand-in for âphony,â âpretentious,â or even âthoughtful,â among kids. One of my little sisterâs friends saw a skateboard leaning against the wall in my apartment and dubbed it âperformative.â The skateboard is performing. Itâs tap-dancing, cane in hand, Vaudeville-style, by simply being there. Never mind that itâs a one-bedroom apartment with little closet or garage space. Never mind that thereâs no space for the skateboard other than wheels up on the wall by the front door, and not the bedroom or bathroom, because why would I put it there? Everything says something, which says something, which says something.
I tread carefully in LAâs eastside neighborhoods, aware of the eyes on and off me as I wait for my coffee. Aware of what people may think Iâm saying without saying anything. One time, my boyfriend tied my shoe for me on the sidewalk, and I saw someone take a picture. I donât even bring my book to my solo lunches because someone could snipe it, only for me to see myself reflected back at myself as entertainment on Pinterest or Instagram Reels. Am I a self-appointed dancing monkey, or the star of *The Madison Show,* the audience unbeknownst to me? Should I slice my skin, *Ex Machina* (2014) style, and see if any marionette strings snap?
Weâve all accepted that social media is as much a project in personal branding as it is a means to keep us entertained. And an important part of everyoneâs brand, even in an indirect way, is to convey attractiveness. The traditional âthirst trapâ once made this all so simple, communicating a sincerity as pure and bright as fresh-fallen snow. Cleavage, muscles, flat stomach, cheekbones, teeth, all captured in the mirror of a hotel bathroom, maybe even with the flash on for some reason. Or something more tender, a selfie, naturally lit from the mid-day sun, freckles and cheek dimples shown, hair tastefully coiffed.
Thereâs something so tender about an unabashed display of oneâs best self. *Hello world, here I come,* says the thirst trap. *What do you think?* Thecolloquial iPhone selfie somehow reminds me of the nineteenth-century daguerreotype, which was the first publicly available photographic process. Rather than shelling out tens of dollars and posing for hours to days on end for an oil painting, one could spend a mere \$0.50 or so to have their portrait captured in mere seconds by a daguerreotype plate. Lightweight tintypes and *carte de visites* served as early forms of social media, enabling a wide demographic to carry, store, and share pocket-sized photos of family and friends. One could now document their children growing up. I can imagine people rushing to have their parentsâ and grandparentsâ portraits captured. Humans have long been concerned with immortalizing their likeness and the likeness of their loved ones.
But now the soft, silvery edges have grown too sharp. Like a mirror image perfectly reflected off a still, murky lake, the iPhone image is too exact without being real. Too uncanny. To share a conventional, beautiful image as a beautiful person is to say nothing interesting. It merely maintains a canon. All the beautiful people we know and donât know have smartphone cameras and a basic understanding of lighting and angles. Now what? Being beautiful on the internet is as humdrum as being âfunnyâ on the internet. Itâs going to take a bit more than just that.
[](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OQVj!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F184899b1-9747-4666-8d1c-902abf41e10c_960x1254.jpeg)
*Fountain,* 1917, by Marcel Duchamp. Photograph by Alfred Stieglitz
In response to the horrors of World War I, the Dadaist art movement of the early twentieth century served to challenge social conventions, making art that intentionally shocked, confused, or outraged people. The Dadaists deemed their work âanti-artâ art, laying fertile ground to inspire surrealist, pop, and performance artists like DalĂ, Warhol, and Kaufman.
One of the most iconic works of Dadaism is Marcel Duchampâs *Fountain,* a porcelain urinal signed âR. Mutt.â In April 1917, Duchamp submitted the urinal to the Society of Independent Artistsâ inaugural exhibition, and it was accepted, as the Society ruled that all works would be accepted from artists who paid the entry fee. The work, however, was never placed in the show area.
When asked to explain the purpose of the readymade sculpture, Duchamp shared that the artistâs act of choice raises an everyday object to the dignity of a work of art. In other words, by staging and exhibiting a urinal as one would a fine oil painting, it becomes a work of art. This became a hallmark of the Dadaist tradition: pushing the bounds of what constitutes âartâ in the art world.
Nearly a century later, the Dadaist tradition endures digitally, via deep-fried images of SpongeBob and a fuzzy photo of Hilary Clinton that reads *âFuck My Life. Bottom Text.â* If early meme formats like Bad Luck Brian and Grumpy Cat represent classical fine art, a blurry image of a horse staring out to sea with the caption âManâ serves as its Dadaist equivalent. These images are baked in layers of irony, lacking any discernible setup or punchline. Theyâre created with the intention to baffle and confuse, undoubtedly stemming, in part, from a state of political and social disillusionment. A world in which videos of law enforcement brutalizing Americans, TikTok dances, GRWM videos, and excerpts from Epstein files exist within the same session of scrolling. A Gen Z Instagram feed is already absurd enough, requiring heightened levels of nonsense to compete with the crazy.
[](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!uwYM!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffebc7255-3ec6-4c2a-8f11-f07394781250_624x692.png)
Enter the Dadaist thirst trap: it girls posting themselves on the toilet. I canât be the only one getting bombarded by this. Kourtney Kardashian, Emma Chamberlain, Tana Mongeau, Alex Consani, Gabbriette. The image is tucked away, either in the middle or at the tail end of an Instagram carousel. The photoâs subject - the it girl - looks fabulous, hair and makeup done up. Chic outfit on top and around her ankles. The catch is that sheâs on the toilet, pants or skirt pulled down, conveying an expression of surprise, boredom, or sensuality.
Whether or not the girl is defecating or not is besides the point. She poses for the iPhone, mouth agape, tongue-in-cheek. The photo is always taken by a second party, also in the bathroom with her, introducing a subsequent layer of intrigue. The whole catch is that sheâs using the toilet, a vulnerable, unsanitary act, but sheâs still hot. Sheâs using the toilet, and youâre still attracted to her. Sheâs playing with social media community guidelines. Sheâs ensnared you.
It girls posting themselves on the toilet is the final boss of post-ironic self-expression online. Itâs vulnerability and sarcasm, which is also vulnerability, tightly enmeshed. Sincerity and irony collapsed. It âworksâ precisely because itâs so inaccessible. The toilet is one of the most lowly places to look sexy, if you can manage it there, you can manage it anywhere.
The posting trend reminds me of Gucciâs FW26 show, creative director Demnaâs debut season with the house, which featured members of the *Brat* entourage strutting in ultra-tight, glitter mini dresses and stilettos. The emphasis of the collection, at least for womenswear: body, body, body. Like the toilet images, these dresses hide nothing and expose everything, relying less on tailoring and more on the physique of the wearer to succeed.
[](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!3i-I!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fdfb1378c-0e63-4e94-b8df-17e62fda7a23_1179x1864.jpeg)
[](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!ZXf_!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F9bd64f43-1518-43df-ab80-b617a2a719c4_1600x1235.jpeg)
Alex Consani and Gabbriette on the toilet via @gabbriette on Instagram / Emily Ratajkowski and Gabbriette walking for Gucci FW26
*Brat* introduced internet post-irony to the masses, which is something Charli XCX herself is quite conscious of. In [her interview on](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LswIGu29BUE) *[the goop podcast](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LswIGu29BUE),* Charli shares that sheâs fascinated by her art (which often adopts a playful shade of snark) intermixing with capitalism (which often disguises itself as sincere), commenting on how âinterestingâ it is to see brands, like Pret A Manger, incorporate the visual language of *Brat* into their marketing.
The once-subversive visual language of *Brat* has long been removed from its original context and is now regurgitated haphazardly across every medium. Super Bowl ads, the chalkboard menu at a mom-and-pop sandwich shop, homemade Etsy shirts with narrow Ariel font, you name it. This is perhaps an inevitable outcome of an artist achieving a certain level of commercial success.
Given this, I think it was quite wise for Charliâs follow-up to *Brat* to be something as straightforward and devoid of snark as her *Wuthering Heights* album. The album is still distinctly her, dancey and flush with club-ready synths, but also tempered with romantic strings and a gushy âlove is beautiful, love is painfulâ lyrical ethos. Itâs a more classic pop album than *Brat* and more direct and digestible in its messaging. In other words, it feels diametrically opposed to it girls posting themselves on toilets, and the turn that I think more artists will be taking on the heels of this caustic chapter.
A few weeks ago, Clare Frances bravely asserted that [âthe swaggiest you can be is normal.â](https://famousandbeloved.substack.com/p/the-swaggiest-you-can-be-is-normal) This comment was made in the context of the 2026 Grammys, in which Harry Styles presented the trophy for Album of the Year in maybe his most ironic ensemble yet: a Jonathan Anderson Dior womenâs blazer, ill-fitting jeans, and mint green ballet flats that appear to be melting off his feet. The outfit almost read as disrespectful, especially when compared to Album of the Year winner Bad Bunny, who wore a beautifully tailored Schiaparelli suit. Waist snatched, beard trimmed, white flower pinned on his lapel - classically stunning. This is the direction I hope our visual politics trends toward in the coming year. Romantic, handsome, serious. Proud, loud, laying it all out in the open.
Being clever is cool, but being honest is coolest. Iâm growing tired of everything being mummified in layers of wit if it means sacrificing honesty. You cannot say something by saying something by saying something if there is no truth at the center. The boldest thing one can do, now more than ever, is just outright *say something*.
[](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!bn5V!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ffcb1cb33-7ba2-4588-8792-746299b16e15_2560x1707.jpeg)
Bad Bunny and Harry Styles at the 68th Grammy Awards (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
***
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[3d](https://madisonhuizinga.substack.com/p/it-girls-posting-themselves-on-the/comment/224979471 "Mar 8, 2026, 9:44 PM")
Liked by Madison Huizinga
Bad Bunny had a suit with a Kevlar vest underneath. That is the difference between him and all the others mentioned: his art actually means something and stands for something greater. I think that his shit matters, not because he looks classically handsome, or respectful to the event, but because the brand he wore was funded by someone who was against Nazism and stood for art, while he as proud Puerto Rican spoke up about being kept out and sidelines for more commercial artists and about what is going on in his land when it comes to politics, and made sure Puerto Rico benefitted from his success and protected people that looked like him by not touring. All the others just look pretty and are somewhat talented, but they are above all sell outs to the system that hurts us all.
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[3d](https://madisonhuizinga.substack.com/p/it-girls-posting-themselves-on-the/comment/224773434 "Mar 8, 2026, 1:28 PM")
Liked by Madison Huizinga
Enjoyed this read! Iâve been trying to pinpoint what exactly about todayâs meme culture is so fascinating to me; didnât expect to find a link in girls posting themselves on the toilet lol
(Also side note, but I believe the spelling for hair is âcoiffed!â :))
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From @emmachamberlain on Instagram
We all wanted Instagram to be casual again, so we made it so, arm extended, doe-eyed in the .5 lens. Snap. This isnât news, any more than the idea that we âperformâ on social media is. Whether we curate sweatily or coolly doesnât matter; itâs all considered a performance now.
âPerformativeâ is a stand-in for âphony,â âpretentious,â or even âthoughtful,â among kids. One of my little sisterâs friends saw a skateboard leaning against the wall in my apartment and dubbed it âperformative.â The skateboard is performing. Itâs tap-dancing, cane in hand, Vaudeville-style, by simply being there. Never mind that itâs a one-bedroom apartment with little closet or garage space. Never mind that thereâs no space for the skateboard other than wheels up on the wall by the front door, and not the bedroom or bathroom, because why would I put it there? Everything says something, which says something, which says something.
I tread carefully in LAâs eastside neighborhoods, aware of the eyes on and off me as I wait for my coffee. Aware of what people may think Iâm saying without saying anything. One time, my boyfriend tied my shoe for me on the sidewalk, and I saw someone take a picture. I donât even bring my book to my solo lunches because someone could snipe it, only for me to see myself reflected back at myself as entertainment on Pinterest or Instagram Reels. Am I a self-appointed dancing monkey, or the star of *The Madison Show,* the audience unbeknownst to me? Should I slice my skin, *Ex Machina* (2014) style, and see if any marionette strings snap?
Weâve all accepted that social media is as much a project in personal branding as it is a means to keep us entertained. And an important part of everyoneâs brand, even in an indirect way, is to convey attractiveness. The traditional âthirst trapâ once made this all so simple, communicating a sincerity as pure and bright as fresh-fallen snow. Cleavage, muscles, flat stomach, cheekbones, teeth, all captured in the mirror of a hotel bathroom, maybe even with the flash on for some reason. Or something more tender, a selfie, naturally lit from the mid-day sun, freckles and cheek dimples shown, hair tastefully coiffed.
Thereâs something so tender about an unabashed display of oneâs best self. *Hello world, here I come,* says the thirst trap. *What do you think?* Thecolloquial iPhone selfie somehow reminds me of the nineteenth-century daguerreotype, which was the first publicly available photographic process. Rather than shelling out tens of dollars and posing for hours to days on end for an oil painting, one could spend a mere \$0.50 or so to have their portrait captured in mere seconds by a daguerreotype plate. Lightweight tintypes and *carte de visites* served as early forms of social media, enabling a wide demographic to carry, store, and share pocket-sized photos of family and friends. One could now document their children growing up. I can imagine people rushing to have their parentsâ and grandparentsâ portraits captured. Humans have long been concerned with immortalizing their likeness and the likeness of their loved ones.
But now the soft, silvery edges have grown too sharp. Like a mirror image perfectly reflected off a still, murky lake, the iPhone image is too exact without being real. Too uncanny. To share a conventional, beautiful image as a beautiful person is to say nothing interesting. It merely maintains a canon. All the beautiful people we know and donât know have smartphone cameras and a basic understanding of lighting and angles. Now what? Being beautiful on the internet is as humdrum as being âfunnyâ on the internet. Itâs going to take a bit more than just that.
[](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!OQVj!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F184899b1-9747-4666-8d1c-902abf41e10c_960x1254.jpeg)
*Fountain,* 1917, by Marcel Duchamp. Photograph by Alfred Stieglitz
In response to the horrors of World War I, the Dadaist art movement of the early twentieth century served to challenge social conventions, making art that intentionally shocked, confused, or outraged people. The Dadaists deemed their work âanti-artâ art, laying fertile ground to inspire surrealist, pop, and performance artists like DalĂ, Warhol, and Kaufman.
One of the most iconic works of Dadaism is Marcel Duchampâs *Fountain,* a porcelain urinal signed âR. Mutt.â In April 1917, Duchamp submitted the urinal to the Society of Independent Artistsâ inaugural exhibition, and it was accepted, as the Society ruled that all works would be accepted from artists who paid the entry fee. The work, however, was never placed in the show area.
When asked to explain the purpose of the readymade sculpture, Duchamp shared that the artistâs act of choice raises an everyday object to the dignity of a work of art. In other words, by staging and exhibiting a urinal as one would a fine oil painting, it becomes a work of art. This became a hallmark of the Dadaist tradition: pushing the bounds of what constitutes âartâ in the art world.
Nearly a century later, the Dadaist tradition endures digitally, via deep-fried images of SpongeBob and a fuzzy photo of Hilary Clinton that reads *âFuck My Life. Bottom Text.â* If early meme formats like Bad Luck Brian and Grumpy Cat represent classical fine art, a blurry image of a horse staring out to sea with the caption âManâ serves as its Dadaist equivalent. These images are baked in layers of irony, lacking any discernible setup or punchline. Theyâre created with the intention to baffle and confuse, undoubtedly stemming, in part, from a state of political and social disillusionment. A world in which videos of law enforcement brutalizing Americans, TikTok dances, GRWM videos, and excerpts from Epstein files exist within the same session of scrolling. A Gen Z Instagram feed is already absurd enough, requiring heightened levels of nonsense to compete with the crazy.
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Enter the Dadaist thirst trap: it girls posting themselves on the toilet. I canât be the only one getting bombarded by this. Kourtney Kardashian, Emma Chamberlain, Tana Mongeau, Alex Consani, Gabbriette. The image is tucked away, either in the middle or at the tail end of an Instagram carousel. The photoâs subject - the it girl - looks fabulous, hair and makeup done up. Chic outfit on top and around her ankles. The catch is that sheâs on the toilet, pants or skirt pulled down, conveying an expression of surprise, boredom, or sensuality.
Whether or not the girl is defecating or not is besides the point. She poses for the iPhone, mouth agape, tongue-in-cheek. The photo is always taken by a second party, also in the bathroom with her, introducing a subsequent layer of intrigue. The whole catch is that sheâs using the toilet, a vulnerable, unsanitary act, but sheâs still hot. Sheâs using the toilet, and youâre still attracted to her. Sheâs playing with social media community guidelines. Sheâs ensnared you.
It girls posting themselves on the toilet is the final boss of post-ironic self-expression online. Itâs vulnerability and sarcasm, which is also vulnerability, tightly enmeshed. Sincerity and irony collapsed. It âworksâ precisely because itâs so inaccessible. The toilet is one of the most lowly places to look sexy, if you can manage it there, you can manage it anywhere.
The posting trend reminds me of Gucciâs FW26 show, creative director Demnaâs debut season with the house, which featured members of the *Brat* entourage strutting in ultra-tight, glitter mini dresses and stilettos. The emphasis of the collection, at least for womenswear: body, body, body. Like the toilet images, these dresses hide nothing and expose everything, relying less on tailoring and more on the physique of the wearer to succeed.
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Alex Consani and Gabbriette on the toilet via @gabbriette on Instagram / Emily Ratajkowski and Gabbriette walking for Gucci FW26
*Brat* introduced internet post-irony to the masses, which is something Charli XCX herself is quite conscious of. In [her interview on](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LswIGu29BUE) *[the goop podcast](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LswIGu29BUE),* Charli shares that sheâs fascinated by her art (which often adopts a playful shade of snark) intermixing with capitalism (which often disguises itself as sincere), commenting on how âinterestingâ it is to see brands, like Pret A Manger, incorporate the visual language of *Brat* into their marketing.
The once-subversive visual language of *Brat* has long been removed from its original context and is now regurgitated haphazardly across every medium. Super Bowl ads, the chalkboard menu at a mom-and-pop sandwich shop, homemade Etsy shirts with narrow Ariel font, you name it. This is perhaps an inevitable outcome of an artist achieving a certain level of commercial success.
Given this, I think it was quite wise for Charliâs follow-up to *Brat* to be something as straightforward and devoid of snark as her *Wuthering Heights* album. The album is still distinctly her, dancey and flush with club-ready synths, but also tempered with romantic strings and a gushy âlove is beautiful, love is painfulâ lyrical ethos. Itâs a more classic pop album than *Brat* and more direct and digestible in its messaging. In other words, it feels diametrically opposed to it girls posting themselves on toilets, and the turn that I think more artists will be taking on the heels of this caustic chapter.
A few weeks ago, Clare Frances bravely asserted that [âthe swaggiest you can be is normal.â](https://famousandbeloved.substack.com/p/the-swaggiest-you-can-be-is-normal) This comment was made in the context of the 2026 Grammys, in which Harry Styles presented the trophy for Album of the Year in maybe his most ironic ensemble yet: a Jonathan Anderson Dior womenâs blazer, ill-fitting jeans, and mint green ballet flats that appear to be melting off his feet. The outfit almost read as disrespectful, especially when compared to Album of the Year winner Bad Bunny, who wore a beautifully tailored Schiaparelli suit. Waist snatched, beard trimmed, white flower pinned on his lapel - classically stunning. This is the direction I hope our visual politics trends toward in the coming year. Romantic, handsome, serious. Proud, loud, laying it all out in the open.
Being clever is cool, but being honest is coolest. Iâm growing tired of everything being mummified in layers of wit if it means sacrificing honesty. You cannot say something by saying something by saying something if there is no truth at the center. The boldest thing one can do, now more than ever, is just outright *say something*.
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Bad Bunny and Harry Styles at the 68th Grammy Awards (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
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