Fleabag era

English

Etymology

Coined with reference to Fleabag, a British dark comedy television series centering on an angry, impulsive anti-heroine, in combination with the TikTok trend of referring to a life phase as an era (compare flop era).

Noun

Fleabag era (plural Fleabag eras)

1. (Internet slang) A period in a woman's life characterized by cynicism, despondency, and self-destructive behaviour.
   • 2022 January 25, Saskia Kirkegaard, “Why Being In Your 'Fleabag Era' Isn't A Flex: The Romanticisation Of Women's Suffering On TikTok”, in That's What She Said:

     Coming out of my own ‘Fleabag era’ was the best thing I’ve done for my mental health.

   • 2022 August 22, Jessica M. Goldstein, “Down and out and extremely online? No problem: Just enter a new ‘era.’”, in The Washington Post:

     A cheekily named “era” undercuts whatever hardship gives it shape: Why say you’re overwhelmed by grief, money troubles or loneliness (sad, embarrassing) when you could be in your “Fleabag era” (chic, cool)?

   • 2023 February 6, Menal Siddiqui, “The End of My Fleabag Era”, in Unpublished Zine:

     I will no longer be in my Fleabag era, and I refuse to be a woman deranged. I will love this world. I implore you to do the same.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Fleabag era.

Related terms

• flop era