The real #tubegirleffect: Sabrina Bahsoon and The Digital Gaze

Thanks to YouTube vloggers and TikTok influencer culture, it is no longer unheard of to see people film themselves in public. Dancing like nobody’s watching on public transit— with your hair blowing in all directions while lip-syncing to Nicki Minaj and David Guetta’s “Where Dem Girls At”— however, is a completely different accomplishment in itself.

Despite our growing fixation on documenting our lives for social media, the looming fear of judgment and intimidation to do so in public still remains. Originating the #tubegirleffect (with the hashtag at a whopping 362.5 million views and counting) on Tiktok, Sabrina Bahsoon’s radiating confidence on the Tube (The London Underground) has challenged this status quo. On August 13th, she posted a video of her lip syncing and dancing on the Tube, featuring her dynamic body movements, eccentric facial expressions, and most importantly– her camerawork. Filming with the iPhone’s 0.5 rear lens, her arm movements are sharp but smooth, reenacting a scene straight out of a music video. It’s satisfying and fun to watch, like a craving you can’t seem to ever satiate. Her first video landed over 13 million views; since she’s always on the Tube, she’s able to drop these mini “music videos” out with ease. It’s clear to see what led to her platform’s success and popularity.

Bahsoon, more known by her alias “Tube Girl,” is a 22 year old TikTok sensation from Malaysia. She resides in London and is a law graduate from Durham University – an interesting point to bring up, as she has disclosed in an article with Vulture that her aspiration of becoming a lawyer is long gone. Since her upshot to fame, Bahsoon has successfully manifested her dreams of working in fashion and beauty. Her impressive portfolio now consists of working with MAC Cosmetics, walking for London Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week, the Hugo Boss show in Milan, and more. 

In the short span of only a few months, Bahsoon has made her mark on millions of women worldwide; challenging the fear of public awkwardness and judgment, her key message to her audience resides in self-confidence. And it seems to be working – as more and more people began recreating her videos, her following grew larger alongside the self-confidence movement. I distinctly remember seeing a video of a random girl dancing on the MTA (New York Subway) with the hashtag #tubegirl. Though none of the recreations come nearly as close to the original, it seems like a modern form of exposure therapy – a seemingly small scrap of dignity dissolved in exchange for validation and praise. I, for one, will not be taking part in this trend; when I’m in public, I try to take up as little space and draw as little attention as possible. Maybe this says something about me as a person. You could also argue it says much more about Tube Girl with her unbothered demeanor towards filming in public. That being said, a closer look at the virality behind Tube Girl implies deeper indications that people may have brushed past in the midst of her rise to fame. 

In an article titled “Social Media and the Digital Gaze,” Christopher P. Jones notes that “to look is to affirm an entitlement to do so. If the look only occurs in one direction, the assumption is of one person’s dominance over the other.” In other words, we have become hyper-aware of being observed and discerned by others, especially more so on the Internet. Thus, the digital gaze refers to the manner in which we present our lives and experiences online. Today, our perceptions have drastically been twisted and conformed by social media. With digital technology and handheld phones connecting us to a network of platforms and social circles, a much wider range of people are able to perceive others and – the most important part –  be perceived. In the digital realm, users are able to curate their online personality. This includes our favorite Tube Girl, with her effortless dancing videos and inspirational phrases: “Live your life. Romanticize your journey. Trust me no one actually cares.” Moreover, a closer examination of Bahsoon’s reason for fame highlights how we have begun to place our online presence on a higher, more grandiose pedestal. Shortly after the #tubegirl trend was in full effect, many TikTokers have commented on this phenomenon. Grace, one of many users on the platform, posted a stitch in response to a famous influencer recreating the trend: “It’s cringe and unaware until a hot person does it – then it’s confident and inspiring. And then suddenly people want to emulate it… Your confidence, your being, doesn’t exist unless it’s content, and it’s out there for other people to see.” 

While Bahsoon’s disregard for the fear of public embarrassment is indeed a positive indication for confidence, her representation of the digital gaze brings up a plethora of questions to consider: what does this mean for the future of social media? Do we value our digital personas more than our real-life counterparts? Does tube girl reclaim self-confidence while also subtly reinforcing conventional beauty standards? Will people continue to willingly “embarrass” themselves in exchange for social media engagement and fame? Only time will tell.