By Sophie Beaven

As we form closer parasocial relationships with digital influencers who promote feminine perfectionism, the pressure to maintain fresh hair, nails, lashes, a regular gym routine and a healthy diet heightens. It’s no surprise that a subculture has emerged rejecting the modern beauty standards presented to us online. Despite seeing only the edited highlights of influencers’ daily lives, we’re expected to follow their example.

Predictably, reality comes with failure. Guilt creeps in as a result. Those who aspire to femininity are taught to be disgusted by the natural aspects of the human body so that when we discover armpit hair, pores, sweat or bloating we feel repulsed and want to wipe it all away. Despite these attributes being natural, they are thoroughly off the ‘femininity’ cards. To be feminine now is to be an idealised and unrealistic ‘perfect’.

We quickly feel inadequate because of our split ends, desire for greasy junk food and the pleasure found in ‘rotting’ in bed all day. This is where Goblincore steps in – a subculture rejecting the perfectionism surrounding feminine beauty standards and instead embracing the gross.

Goblincore leans into grime and rot. It creates space for femininity to reconnect with the earth and the dirt, moving away from the sleek defined beauty sold to us in the digital space. With Goblincore, we leave the bright, white, modern kitchens of influences like Molly Mae and return to the soil. The feminine is allowed to fester and wallow. In Goblincore, the bumps don’t need to be removed or the pimples airbrushed out. Instead, they’re embraced and included. We’re allowed to enjoy ‘hot girl rot days’ without feeling like we’ve failed some kind of perfectionist endurance test.

Goblincore vs. Cottagecore

Both movements represent a turn away from the digital realm as they reconnect femininity with the earth. Cottagecore is recognisable for its whimsical dresses, countryside cottages, cups of tea, picnics and flowers. Unlike many other modern-day representations, here femininity is soft and gentle; it’s a pastoral image of rolling hills and green grass. However, the aesthetic has also been criticised for its unrealistic expectations. Cottagecore blogs, fashion posts and Pinterest boards show a romanticised life that’s unachievable for most, especially as we live in an increasingly urban world. Post-COVID countryside property prices have skyrocketed, as have rural AirBnBs, so the accessibility of this aesthetic is limited.

Goblincore, however, leans into base instincts and allows femininity to exist in a feral state. For those subscribed to the Goblincore mentality, they can go food shopping in the hoodie they slept in last night, skip hair wash day and order their favourite cheap greasy pizza – all without guilt. None of these decisions take away from Goblincore’s femininity. This aesthetic pinches the earthy aspects of Cottagecore while letting people exist in peace. ‘Hot girls have rot days’ (I like to read ‘hot girls’ here as a state of mind, rather than a gender binary) is a tagline that emerged from this aesthetic and reminds us that we can rot without it taking away from our perceived hotness.

The average Goblincore Pinterest board is filled with trolls, mud, earth and moss. Although it happily sits alongside Cottagecore, its dirt and grime are distinctly separate. The white linen of Cottagecore is replaced with gremlin rags and the earthy beauty portrayed is the antithesis of ‘perfection’. Alongside Goblincore’s return to nature is its focus on sustainability, with second-hand, upcycled fashion favoured over the crisp, fresh clothing sold by both influencers and the Cottagecore aesthetic.

Goblincore and Identity

To me, Goblincore has a fluid perspective on femininity. We can all imagine ourselves as green, gross and living in grubby little hovels reminiscent of Lord of the Ring’s Shire. The feral nature of this aesthetic allows individuality to bloom freely, including gender identity. Strip back the pressure for feminine perfection and humans can exist liberated and free-spirited, subscribing to whatever gender identity fits most comfortably for them.

Goblincore removes the modern-day expectations of femininity along with the binaries and boundaries that we set in place around womanhood. Instead, it sets us loose in nature. We can roam in the woods, crouch in the dirt and throw away the social media codebook. Goblincore encourages us to exist as free feral beings, where no one is failing or shamed – gender and the lines we draw around it are released into the wild and we are happier for it.