Gypsy-Rose Blanchard and the Girlboss-ification of Desperate Women
Reported By: Sierra Reisman
Photo Courtesy: edailybuzz
On Dec. 28, Gypsy-Rose Blanchard was released from prison and the internet went wild. Blanchard’s story has interested audiences since 2016, when she was sentenced to ten years in prison after being convicted of second degree murder in the death of her mother, Claudine Blanchard. Gypsy-Rose was a victim of her mother’s Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a complex form of abuse in which Claudine convinced both her daughter and her daughter’s doctors that Gypsy-Rose suffered from a variety of medical problems. Gypsy-Rose was confined to a wheelchair in spite of being able to walk, and was subjected to numerous unnecessary procedures and surgeries. The court found that Gypsy-Rose had conspired with her then-boyfriend Nicholas Godejohn to murder her mother and free her from the abuse.
After serving seven out of a ten year sentence, Gypsy-Rose was released on parole and instantly became an internet celebrity. Her Instagram was verified before she was even released from prison, and her TikTok currently has 9.8 million followers. The parasocial relationship the internet has with her, starting even before her release, has revealed quite a bit about the way the internet reacts to women with complicated backgrounds. Gypsy-Rose is becoming an influencer. To the internet at large, her life story and personality is yet another cultural phenomenon to entertain the masses.
Many people seem to see their almost hero-worship of Gypsy-Rose through a feminist lens, taking the side of a woman who might otherwise be demonized for the horrible things she did to escape abuse. Although this is well-intentioned, turning desperate women into girlboss icons and dehumanizing them by turning their trauma into internet memes isn’t exactly a feminist take either. Gypsy-Rose has expressed a desire to use her platform to spread awareness about Munchausen syndrome by proxy, but it’s difficult to do so when people see her more as a celebrity persona than a person and a victim.
Considering the horrific abuse she endured and the challenges of reintegrating back into society, many people are expressing empathy for Gypsy-Rose. But the line between genuine empathy and mere entertainment is thin, and people are acting like Gypsy-Rose’s real life is just another episode of a reality TV show. Parasocial relationships on the internet condition viewers to evaluate other humans based on their entertainment value, and we’ve all seen what happens to people online, especially women, once they stop being entertaining and start being complicated human beings. This is already happening to Gypsy-Rose.
People are going from posting TikToks in their cars ‘waiting outside of the prison in case Gypsy-Rose needs a ride,’ to expressing boredom and annoyance at seeing her face and story everywhere. The internet is beginning to critique the way she engages online and question her motives and character. It seems Gypsy-Rose is becoming another victim of the influencer pipeline, in which celebrities are made and then rejected once the entertainment value wears off. In Gypsy-Rose’s case, it’s happening frighteningly quickly.
Gypsy-Rose is not just another influencer; she’s navigating freedom for the first time in her entire life, and reducing her experiences to online entertainment demonstrates a pervasive lack of boundaries and self-awareness in online spaces. The internet’s unquenchable thirst for entertainment leads us to forget about the real people behind our screens, creating a culture in which consumerism extends even to other human beings.