Hot Girl Summer, Meg Ryan Fall, and now… Goth Boy Winter? Thank you, Pete Davidson

Kim Kardashian has broken the internet on more occasions than one. Back in 2014, it was with photos of her balancing a champagne coupe on her arse. Today, it’s thanks to her newly-confirmed relationship (I use that phrase lightly) with Pete Davidson. A source told E! News that the couple “are really happy and seeing where it goes”. Good for them. I think we were due a break from the Kourtney and Travis PDA anyway, so this is a welcome distraction. 

We all know who Kim and her famous family are – if you don’t, keep up – but there has been quite a bit of chatter about Pete lately… some of it a little unfair. The continuous conversations around how he manages to get so many beautiful women to go out with him, for example. Imagine someone looking you up and down and then asking that?! That’s a pretty scathing way of saying “yeah, you’re horribly unattractive and you have a terrible personality too”. 

While looks and humour are subjective, Pete definitely has a certain je ne sais quoi that people seem to be drawn to. By its very meaning, je ne sais quoi is hard to define, but in Pete’s case I think it comes down to the Goth Boy aura he exudes. 

First, there was Hot Girl Summer. Then there was Meg Ryan Fall. Now, we have Goth Boy Winter.

Goth Boys (often referred to as Sad Boys or Sad Bois) come in all shapes and sizes. They’re musicians, skaters, artsy types, gamers, or as in this case, comedians. They’re always open about their emotions and mental struggles, it’s a Goth Boy personality trait. They tend to wallow, talk about their moms a lot, listen to sorrowful music, and stay up to the wee hours of the morning tweeting their feelings. Pete, from what I’ve heard, is full of charisma, wit, and charm too. He also paints his nails, which isn’t necessarily a prerequisite but seems relevant all the same. Oh, and he’s got the height as Emily Ratajkowski pointed out. “He’s vulnerable. He’s lovely. His fingernail polish is awesome. He looks good!”, she continued. Case in point. 

Goth Boy Winter extends beyond just Pete Davidson though. 

It’s a state of grace mind, and one that many others have been leaning into. In fact, you might say that Pete’s recent SNL sketch with Taylor Swift is a pretty good indication that Goth Boy Winter is definitely the next big thing. Teaming up for the music video for the sure-to-be hit “Three Sad Virgins”, the duo made a strong case as to why we should embrace the melancholy. I mean… it’s definitely been working for them. 

Taylor isn’t just surviving, she’s thriving. Not sure we could say the same for Jake Gyllenhaal – especially after Dionne Warwick referred to him as “that young man” on Twitter. If he wasn’t feeling the sting of all the scarf discourse before, he’s most definitely feeling it now. One simply doesn’t recover from such a remark, not without a bruised ego at the very least anyway. 

If that young man has Taylor’s scarf he should return it.

— Dionne Warwick (@dionnewarwick) November 15, 2021

Back to Taylor though. Ms. Swift has us right where she wants us; smack bang in the middle of our feels. Suddenly, I’m 16 again, looking out the rain-glazed windows of my parent’s car and romanticising my life in a way that is both unwarranted and unnecessary. 

As of just today, “All Too Well” (Taylor’s version, obvs), will be alternated with Adele’s new album, 30. For those of you who don’t know, it’s “about divorce babe, divorce”. That a direct quote from the singer herself. Another woman in firm favour of a Goth Boy Winter, The Guardian describes her as “the defining voice of heartbreak”, and it’s a title I most definitely agree with. Few others could have us sobbing into our pillows quite like the sultry vocals of the British soul queen herself. We don’t even necessarily have anything of substance to cry over, but she somehow manages to bring the emotion out of us all the same. 

Life imitates art, and music aside, it’s been a pretty sad time culturally when you think about it. Camilla Cabello and Shawn Mendes just broke up. As did Kaia Gerber and Jacob Elordi. Nightclubs have had Cinderella curfews imposed and cuffing season has given way to heartbreak on a full moon. The teenage angst has returned with a vengeance and we’re all so busy spiting past lovers that we don’t really have time to think about anything else. 

Kim isn’t the only sister to have been swayed by a Goth Boy either. As mentioned earlier, Kourtney and new beau Travis Barker have been making it very clear that they’re into each other, though the estimated $1 million engagement ring she’s been sporting recently does a pretty good job of that too, mind. Like Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly, whose relationship I know far too much about and all of it learned unwillingly, the duo has been laying it on thick for the public. Yes,  it’s too much but it’s clearly opened the rest of the family up to the idea that Goth Boys are in.

As a rather too invested fan of the Kardashians, I probably have more skin in the game than the average person, but Pete Davidson is living his best Goth Boy Winter life and I think we should all follow suit and do so too.