The “sad girl” aesthetic, popularized by straight white women, often sidelines the authentic experiences of sadness felt by women of color and queer women, reducing their emotions to racial or cultural trauma. We must shatter the stereotypes of the “sad girl” and ask why these minority women are denied the same space to simply be sad.

Have you ever noticed that many East Asians and Southeast Asians hold up a peace sign when posing for casual photos? My first exposure to this was when I studied abroad in Hong Kong.  Almost without fail, whenever my local peers posed for a photo, up went their…