Kids used to call me “Daria” in high school. It was not meant as a term of endearment. With my dry, world-weary demeanor, lack of interest in any after-school activity and propensity for wearing combat boots in the unforgiving Californian heat, I was a dead ringer for the ceaselessly judgmental and cripplingly acerbic cartoon character.

Out of protest, I refused to watch Daria when it initially aired. Which makes sense. Daria Morgendorffer, after all, would boycott her own show, resenting the suggestion she was like anyone but herself. The joke, however, was on me. By not watching Daria, I deprived myself of the self esteem-validating pleasures of seeing a two-dimensional representation of my teenaged existence on television. Watching it now, in retrospect, I am struck by how accurate a depiction of maladroit teen girlhood it truly is.



This week marks the 20th anniversary of Daria, MTV’s series revolving around the life of the titular character, her best friend Jane, and a cavalcade of idiotic suburban cyphers. Daria began life as a recurring character on Beavis and Butthead, a show not particularly known for its strong female roles. She was spun off into her own series in order to court female viewership, which the network lacked at the time – network chiefs went as far as to call her a “spokesperson” for the channel. Through five seasons (all of which are currently streaming on the MTV app) and two TV movies, Daria blossomed into an icon of above-it-all, take-no-shit feminism. (“People call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or a prostitute,” she once famously opined.)

#Squadgoals: Daria and friends. Photograph: Allstar/MTV

Daria is wholly reflective of the era of its creation – the 90s, when even advertisements were presented with tongues firmly planted in cheek. Two decades ago the idea of being marketed to or expressing an emotion that could be remotely construed as sincere was enough to earn someone pariah status. The show’s theme song (written by riot grrrls Splendora) was so disaffected and tuneless it could almost be misinterpreted as pandering. God knows plenty of other entities during the period shamelessly targeted the youth demographic (Reality Bites, Singles), but with Daria, its depiction of abject teen angst rang true. Daria and Jane operate as quip machines, but do so solely in order to create protective armor around themselves in a hostile world. Daria’s sister Quinn, who at first glance appears to have it all together as a popular mean girl, is nevertheless riddled with existential ennui.

Daria blossomed into an icon of above-it-all, take-no-shit feminism

Fiercely intelligent, it never speaks down to its audience, only to it. Daria is virtually genderless by design, though her unrequited feelings for Jane’s alt-rock poster boy brother Trent, which manifest in Daria’s brief dalliance with belly button piercing in order to impress him, prove she is still a teen girl – albeit one who reads Being and Nothingness at the dinner table. Sure, I cut my own hair and didn’t wear makeup, but that didn’t mean I didn’t also have a crush on the guy who worked at the video store in my bookstore-deficient hometown. Despite being a cartoon, Daria is profoundly human.

Had I not been so Daria-esque in my adolescence and watched the damn show, my teen years might have been significantly less difficult. Regardless, she is in my life now, and her presence is appreciated. Indeed, the 90s may be long dead, but the character of Daria Morgendorffer lives on in the minds of both Gen X and millennial women – with an influence that can be seen in everything from Girls to Riverdale. The argument could be made that, in America’s current political climate, she’s more relevant than ever. Perhaps we should take a leaf from her book and sigh our way through it.

Daria Morgendorffer’s best moments

Sick, Sad World

When not discussing existentialism or beat poetry, Daria and Jane would bond over their mutual love of the trash journalism of Sick, Sad World, the show-within-a-show which predicted the rise of clickbait. Are microbes having sex in your drinking water?

Valedictorian speech

“Remember, when the emperor looks naked, the emperor is naked. The truth and the lie are not sort of the same thing.” Now more than ever, Daria’s graduation speech serves as a reminder of the importance to view the world with keen skepticism.

Daria and Jane get hit on

Daria’s emotionlessly sarcastic response to an idiotic bro’s advances, coupled with his inability to read said sarcasm, is the stuff of negging legend. Her take on Tinder would be invaluable.

Daria’s life goals

She wants what any maladjusted teenager wants – to not turn into her parents. Here she sums up in less than 10 seconds what therapists and self-help books take an age to eke out. Isn’t that a viable career path in and of itself?

Daria goes to therapy

For most people, it takes decades of psychoanalysis to get to the core of their troubled family dynamic. In Daria’s case, it takes less time than required to microwave a Hot Pocket.