TO the 22-year-old was the one who launched the trend Sabrina Bahsoon, a student who turned the London Underground into her stage. And it has helped dozens of girls feel more confident about themselves
Can a means of transport become a tool to feel more confident about oneself, a place where, between musical and dance steps, one can struggle social anxiety And contraction? For the community of Tik Tokyes: the demo is one of the new trends that have gone viral on the platform, the “Tube Girl Challenge,” to which hundreds of women responded by sharing videos of themselves dancing on the subway.
The Londoner launched the hashtags #tubegirl and #tubegirlchallenge Sabrina Bahsoonknown on TikTok and Instagram just like Tube Girl: she was the first to introduce dance on the subway, the London Underground, showing herself dancing “as if no one was watching me». Except that there were many people who watched her, who followed her daily in her raids on the carriages and who ended up imitating her, fascinated by the ease with which the young woman danced under the curious gazes of the other passengers.
Bahsoon’s format is very simple, but just as effective: all you need is a smartphone, headphones and the right song, after which the “Tube Girl” gets on the carriage and starts dancing, radiating confidence and body positivity. The first video dates back to last August and it scored over 800,000 likes: “If you’re the girlfriend who lives on the other side of town, you need to be motivated during the trip,” is the comment accompanying the video in which she dances, filming herself with the camera in 0.5 mode, in a song. by Nicki Minaj.
The idea, as she explained – a law student with a passion for fashion and music – was to transform the long and boring subway journeys in very short music videos, the carriage in a scene. And they liked it: not only did people start to recognize it, but many girls decided on it imitate heradmiring her determination and self-confidence.
A phenomenon that did not escape even the fashion offices: within a few weeks, Sabrina contacted some of the most important fashion brands and was invited to Paris Fashion Weekwhere she also attended the Valentino fashion show and modeled for designer Christian Cowan.
Meanwhile, the hashtag #tubegirl has been used thousands of times and the trend has landed in subways around the world, from Warsaw to Hong Kongfrom Quebec to Dubai. And many have admitted that Bahsoon-esque subway dancing has helped overcome social anxiety and fear of others’ judgments.
“For me, being confident means knowing yourself very well and knowing what your abilities are – explained Sabrina – what you are good at doing, and above all recognizing your ability to do it” . With all due respect to potentially critical eyes.