Iconography of Suffering in Social Media: Images of Sitting Girls

This paper examines the online iconography of mental suffering by using the visual trope of a hunched-over sitting girl as a case in point. By analyzing images of sitting girls found in YouTube video montages on self-harm, and also tracking their further online existence through image search engines, we suggest that the popularity of this trope stems from its generic character, where the girl can be read as simultaneously docile and as actively refusing to engage with the world around her. While not new in itself, the trope is circulated and put to use in new ways through social media with emphasis on remix and visual communication. We argue that media-specific features, together with gender and mental health discourses, enable particular representations and aesthetic styles that may both reinforce and alleviate suffering.