Morute

This page is under construction. This is a page that will be part of a series on more anthropological approaches with interviews and noted influencers.

Sensitive Content Notice ⚠️

The following article contains and discusses content that may be distressing to some readers.
Reason for Warning: This article has a focus on topics of domestic abuse, sexual assault, mental illness, eating disorders, and religious abuse.

Morute, a name combining the words "morbid" and "cute," is an aesthetic created in the early 2010's that expresses the dichotomy between the hyper-femininity and childlike softness of the Gloomy Coquette and Babycore aesthetics with the darker imagery of Cult Party Kei, Kinderwhore, and American Gothic elements. It is an outlet for expressing trauma, especially those surrounding eating disorders and child abuse. The community largely developed from the music of Nicole Dollanganger and influential photographers such as Jess Woods and milliedollgraves, who have since deactivated. It is more commonly known as "Sadbbydoll", due to those in the aesthetic looking like sad baby dolls.

Many visuals suggest physical abuse, sexual assault and molestation, emotional abuse and self-destruction, religious trauma, and physical disability. The child-like imagery serves as a desire to return to a girlhood that was ripped away from them, with the Christian, angelic, and cute motifs being an idealization of purity and innocence. Religious guilt is a common motif, with the desire to go to Heaven, but feeling unable due to the victim being "dirtied" with whatever traumatized them. Poverty within small-town Americana is also present, and it reflects the influence of horror movies and the idea of home being sullied and unsafe.

It is a precursor to Traumacore, and that aesthetic is an example of convergent evolution, wherein two aesthetics express the same thing, but the later community is relatively unaware of its predecessor and its influences. The aesthetic is one that has largely fallen out of popularity due to the current notoriety of Traumacore, the insular community, mental recovery of many influencers, and discourse surrounding the aestheticization of dark themes. The community itself does not emphasize the necessity of actually having trauma. Many simply are visually attracted to it and there is no need to discuss or vent about past experiences.

History[]

Kinderwhore[]

See Kinderwhore for more information.

Cult Party Kei[]

Cult Party Kei, a fashion characterized by its use of pastel, diaphanous vintage garments such as bed jackets, night gowns, and layered skirts, as well as its use of rosaries and red medical crosses, gained popularity in 2012 Tumblr.^[1] These elements are seen in Morute fashion, albeit in a more simplistic and less layered coordination.

Nicole Dollanganger[]

Nicole Dollanganger is a Canadian singer-songwriter whose music and visual presence on Tumblr greatly influenced, and arguably created, the Morute aesthetic. Her stage name itself, Dollanganger, was taken from the Gothic novel Flowers in the Attic, which explores poverty, abuse, incest, and religious fear, which are multiple motifs that appear in her songs and later Morute artworks^[2]. In 2011, she released her first song, Coma Baby, on Tumblr to great praise. Her music is characterized by her ethereal, child-like voice contrasting with lyrics about kink, violence, and depression, something that is both influenced and admired by metal and hardcore musicians.^[3]

Her now deleted aesthetic, personal, and self-promotional blog on Tumblr contained multiple visuals associated with Morute: bondage, horror movie stills, 1920s porcelain dolls (which she collects), and her own hand-drawn illustrations decorate her vintage bedroom. This led to the growth of her fanbase, which contained other aesthetic enthusiasts, such as Cult Party Kei fans and Gothic Lolitas who would regularly communicate with her and foster a community.^[4]

Allison Harvard (Creepy Chan)[]

Allison Harvard Burke is an American model and known internet celebrity. She started officially modeling in 2009, however debuted her career in America’s Next Top Model in 2005, and was a runner-up in that same contest in season 12 and 17. Before she debuted, she became an internet meme recognized as “Creepy Chan” on 4chan when a photo of her wearing a pink dress in a dim room spread around. ^[5]

Many Morute bloggers are inspired by her “Creepy Chan” look, even if she isn’t Morute-esqe herself.

Jess Woods[]

Jess Woods is a deactivated Tumblr user who would post hundreds of her own photo graphs. Her style ranges from hazy and whitewashed to found footage-esque. Her photo subjects include gloomy scenes of her small suburban town, herself wearing girly J-fashion and vintage nightwear, and small trinkets often found in the Morute aesthetic. Many images typically circulated in the Morute community are hers, and she has also influenced other aesthetic communities such as Suburban Gothic, Pink Parisian, and Kawaii. She deactivated in 2014, but a fan blog has archived most of her photography here.

The Tumblr purge^[6], done in December 2018 caused multiple Tumblr users to lose their accounts. Morute fans often reblogged images that would be against the new ban on adult content, such as images that referenced BDSM and the Nymphet community. Many blogs were also removed because they contained pro-Ana and self-harm content. Because of this purge, many accounts are now lost. Some dedicated users have rebuilt their old blogs, which explains why multiple users do not have content before 2018, despite their previous content on the site. Images from deleted accounts are still lost, such as those from the blogs deleted in 2014.

Visuals[]

The visuals of Morute rely on the juxtaposition between sweetness and death. The most popular and recognizable images are typically macabre subjects framed with a cute background, such as a knife on a pink bedsheet. The lighting is typically either shadowed and reminiscent of vintage photographs and advertisements or over-exposed, creating a white haze over the photo. The most popular colors in the aesthetic are pink and white, but gray and black contrast the cute images. The tumblr blogs in this aesthetic also commonly reblog photos with two different aesthetics in succession. For example, a blog may have one post be a purely Delicate Sweet collection of dresses and then have the next photo be of a gun collection from a violence-themed blog.

The most feminine visuals take inspiration from vintage 1950s boudoir/bedrooms. Many Morute bloggers owned lingerie, old perfume bottles, jewelry, and various vintage knickknacks from that period. These items were typically found in thrift stores or passed down, and share visual similarities with Shabby Chic. This also creates overlap with the Trailer Park Princess aesthetic.

Christianity in general is heavily referenced throughout this entire aesthetic. Angels and cherubs appear in artwork, with the semi-naturalistic art being put on stickers, trinket boxes, and wall art. Feathered white wings frequently appear as decoration or worn as a fashion accessory. Crosses and crucifixes are another reference to Christ as well as other religious talismans, such as candles, statuettes, and relics. These are often spread on a bed, collected on a wall, or made into a shrine with an alarming amount of religious paraphernalia, showing the obsessive dedication and fascination with religion. Vintage photographs of religious ceremonies, such as weddings and baptisms, which feature women or little girls dressed in pale, feminine clothing, are also popular and reference the feminine beauty and purity of some Christian traditions.

The aesthetic also heavily plays off of the idea of "home," which would not exist for a victim of domestic abuse and sexual trauma. Many images are of abandoned and decaying houses that have either clear signs of destruction or outdated feminine features. These often overlap with Southern Gothic and Grandparentcore. Torn floral wallpaper, piles of broken wood, graffiti from trespassers, and patches of broken plaster are almost always in these photos. However, non-destroyed pastel suburban houses from the 1950s-1970s in hazy photography are common too.

Graveyards are another common photo subject that includes images of these places, girls in Morute clothing being in the space, and specific gravestones carrying a touching message (typically for a child or baby).

Another location that is connected to the vintage, youthful, and feminine aesthetic is carnivals, with rides and stands such as carousels, horror-themed funhouses, and sweets stands. These can be fully operational or abandoned.

Antique baby and children's paraphernalia is another common subject, specifically around practices that were normal/considered sentimental and cute in the past, but are now seen as creepy. In the past, parents would collect cut locks of hair, baby teeth, and gift their children porcelain or bisque dolls and stuffed animals. Many photos show the OP's collection of such objects in a box or arranged in a shrine-like fashion.

Another Victorian-inspired visual of the aesthetic are medical tools and asylums/hospitals from that era. These instruments are often collected, and images of medical procedures, organs, and bloodied objects are included on blogs. Similarly, severe mutations, especially conjoined twins, are commonly seen in both daguerreotypes and animals.

Building off on this, vulnerable animals such as rabbits, lambs, kittens, and deer, are frequently featured, often decorated in ribbon similar to vintage card illustrations. Bugs related to decay, such as maggots, cockroaches, and worms are also included because of their relationship with death and abandonment.

Blood, bruises, and cuts are present, always on a pale young woman's body. These have multiple reasons; self-harm scars and cuts, menstruation, BDSM injuries, abuse, and bumps and scrapes are explained in the caption of the post.

Imagery related to BDSM is common, but not always. Robe bondage, choking, duct-taped women, knifeplay, gags, pretend kidnapping, etc. can appear. The woman is dressed cutely in a DDlg manner, and contrasts the male dominant, who is typically in black, sometimes with a full-faced mask (balaclava, gas mask, etc.) Some of the appeal is that being bound by an ominous male dominant resembles kidnapping or being murdered, which matches the aesthetic's relationship with true crime and morbidity. Another big appeal is that CNC (consensual non-consent) is a kink that is often used as a way to help overcome past experiences of sexual assault, which is a big theme within Morute.

Fashion[]

The look takes a lot of inspiration from Kinderwhore, which ties into the Morute music taste of grunge bands.

Gunne Sax-style prairie dresses
Pastel vintage baby clothes-inspired dresses with heirloom sewing details. Common elements include:
- Floral print
- Lace
- Peter Pan collars
- Ribbons
- Pastel colors
Black Mary-Jane shoes
Doc Martens
Saddle shoes
White frilly socks
Rosaries
Gimp masks, BDSM harnesses, and rope bondage
Lacey sock garters
Distressed/tattered dresses

Music[]

As said in the Influences page, Nicole Dollanganger was the largest influence, with her music being shared within the community. As such, the music of Morute is largely defined by her. The non-Dollanganger artists included here are ones that appear in 8tracks playlists (see 2014 Tumblr for an explanation) and have a similar sound, but may not necessarily be as popular within the community. In addition, grunge and metal bands with lyrics that express the same vulnerability and sexuality as Morute are included.

Artists[]

Cake Bake Betty
Elvis Depressedly
Nicole Dollanganger
Ethel Cain
Mercy Necromancy
Cozy st. Jean
Jazmin Bean
Elita
Lana Del Rey
Ruby Throat
Lalleshwari
Flower Face
Honey Gentry
Dollie Rot
Bambi Baker
Princess Chelsea
Fiona Apple
Sophie Woodhouse
Dan Darrah
Babuchan

Grunge and Metal Artists[]

Hole
Marilyn Manson
KoЯn
Insane Clown Posse
Jack Off Jill
The Smashing Pumpkins
Angelic Milk
Babes in Toyland
Starcrawler
Daisy Chainsaw
Queenadreena
The Birthday Massacre
Scarling.

Literature[]

Flowers In The Attic by VC Andrews
Carrie by Stephen King

Criticism[]

The main criticisms of Morute is how the depiction of the dark subject matter is romanticized and/or minimizes the actual pain and trauma that happens to the victims of abuse. This can also make the internet experience triggering for victims. Because Morute previously wasn't a tag, the images of abuse and self-destruction would be seen in innocuous tags such as #pink or #cute, which can make a person healing unnecessarily see imagery that can make them relapse or hurt.

For example, many content-creators of Morute photographed their self-harm scars and bruises, some being unrelated to the aesthetic, and some being made for the purpose of photographing and garnering internet attention. While for some, this is an expression of their past pain and moving on from it, others may see it and think self-harm is a beautiful and normal expression of pain that should be emulated.

This aesthetic is also criticized by people for its depiction of violence. Some people in this aesthetic are adjacent to the true crime community, which on Tumblr, centers around admiring and having crushes on serial killers and school shooters. Many songs in the Morute community reference this romantic fascination with killers, which has led to some incidents such as one in which many people began "cancelling" an artist who made songs of this nature.^[7]

Additionally, domestic abuse is a frequent motif that is framed in a romantic sense. For example, captions under photos include "He hit me, and it felt like a kiss." Music and photos also include this romanticization, with photos of framed domestic violence, such as choking a woman being popular; however, this also ties into the BDSM connection, which is a culture that emphasizes consent.

The Morute community also has many users who make and reblog pro-Ana/thinspo content. Many bloggers both have Morute images on their blog and text posts documenting their anorexia in a positive light and blog posts depicting how little they eat. The images associated with Morute also allude to pro-Ana in that the women idealized in this aesthetic are often unhealthily thin, and some commonly reblogged photos serve a double function as "body checks" (small tests that confirm skinniness) such as thigh gaps and tiny wrists.