“Well, if that makes me a villain, then so be it. I can play the freaking villain,” Cassie from Euphoria on HBO Max stated. 

 If you have been on social media, you have noticed a lot of female villain archetypes and aesthetics across social media platforms. Female influencers are reclaiming their power and their femininity through the new social media phenomenon, known as a villain era or arc, made by influencers who are both on Instagram, Tik Tok, and other social media. The villain arc is not credited to one creator, but rather the womankind as a whole and can be categorized as a new wave of feminist energy. But what is a villain girl arc, where did it start, what does it mean, and why is everyone doing it? 

 If you often find yourself on a desperate quest to please others at the expense of your personal well-being, it may be time to enter your “villain era” — an invitation to stop being a pushover and start taking control of your life. 

Contrary to popular belief and despite the name, the villain girl era is not about being a manipulating, narcissistic villain or even about being unnecessarily unkind. A villain arc is more so of a redemption era of someone who is taking control of their life after a traumatic life event that caused them to feel weak, vulnerable, or out of control within their own experience. It is more of a reclamation statement, a proclamation that you will never find yourself in that space again to reclaim control over situations and your life.  

“After my situation, I was down, I was out, I had hit rock bottom, and I was just scrolling on twitter and ended up on the villain era side of Tik Tok. The amount of women who understood, who listened, I gained so much more from conversing with this tribe of women than therapy could ever give me,” Alaina Mitchelle stated. 

While pop culture has led to us romanticizing not so positive situations such as the relationship between Joker and Harley, Inventing Anna, and other mainstream villain arcs. Instead, the trend encourages tapping into the less agreeable parts of ourselves and tuning into “villain mode” playlists on Spotify. Entering your “villain era” is a viral mental health trend that has become synonymous with asserting boundaries and pleasing yourself, promoting self-care, and not sacrificing your own mental health for the privilege and benefit of others. It is time we all practice self-care, self-love, and enter our own villain era because we all deserve it.