Celebrity

I’m Reclaiming Mid As An Insult

by Lia Kim  19 July 2023
Margot Robbie Zendaya Mid

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Like the tale of Icarus, apparently hot women like Zendaya and Margot Robbie simply need to be humbled when they slay too hard and fly too close to the sun. And who plays the role of the sun? Random men on the internet, of course.

There’s been an uptick of valuable and much-needed commentary on celebrities like Zendaya and Margot Robbie, with some men saying that they are, in fact, mid. (‘Mid’ meaning ‘average’ for those of you blissfully free from a chronically online existence.) You know, Zendaya, known for her immaculate red carpet looks and effortless beauty. And Margot Robbie, who’s trending every other week for her perfect recreations of Barbie outfits for promoting the film where she’s literally playing a Barbie doll. Say what you will about celebrity and beauty culture, but you can’t deny that these women are gorgeous.

‘No, they’re not,’ random internet men decry. They’re mid! Don’t be fooled by their statuesque frames and symmetrical faces and impeccable styling. Take away the makeup and designer clothing, and all you get is mid.

Look, I could sit here and argue that these people are simply delusional. I could point out that their casual dismissal of a woman’s appearance is reflective of a culture that demands an impossible beauty from women and the bare minimum from men.

Instead, I’m taking back mid as an insult.

If Zendaya and Margot Robbie are mid, then the answer is simple: the new benchmark is to be mid. When you think about it, being mid is a pretty sweet deal. Goldilocks knew what she wanted from her porridge, and it was definitely mid. Restaurants with four whole dollar signs on Google? Yikes. Restaurants in that mid-range sweet spot? Let’s go. And you know those faces that combine a million other faces to create an aggregate blend of facial features? NGL, that mid face is pretty hot, and that’s a scientific fact. Being mid sounds just right to me.

And what about those accusations that you can find a Margot Robbie anywhere? Damn, women really are just that pretty, everywhere you go. And in what world is Zendaya the supermodel, as opposed to the girl at working as a cashier? Gee, I guess there’s more to success than being pretty — and I’m sure there’s no racist undertones at play here, either.

Honestly, if objectively beautiful celebrities are accused of being mid, it’s not because they’re not attractive. It’s because we assign power to beauty, and that makes some people want to take that power away.

If people want to detract their power and influence by calling them mid, it helps the rest of us mere mortals realise that beauty standards are over-inflated and arbitrary. Zendaya and Margot Robbie are known for much more than being ‘pretty’, but I understand why some might think calling them mid is the sharpest insult known to man — especially if they think that physical beauty is the most important thing that women bring to the table. Thank you for waving that red flag right where we can see it.