In response to these pressures, a counter-movement is emerging. Independent filmmakers, Zine creators, and alternative social platforms (like VSCO and Dispo) are experimenting with "anti-aesthetic" girl picture content.

Shows like Laguna Beach and The Hills blurred the line between candid and scripted. Girls learned to "pose for the camera" in their daily lives. Meanwhile, digital cameras and early social networks (MySpace, Flickr) turned every girl into a content creator. The "selfie" was born—a revolutionary form of girl picture entertainment controlled entirely by the subject.

However, the relentless production and consumption of girl picture content have a dark underbelly. Clinical psychologists have identified a new syndrome tentatively labeled "Visual Social Comparison Disorder."