People who are not twins are often intrigued by twins and the idea of having a double of yourself essentially. For myself and many other girls my age, I would say the first “internet twins” were Brooklyn and Bailey. Originally under the name Cute Girl Hairstyles where their mom would do their hair and tutorials for others to follow, they gradually grew a following and reputation for their hair styles and identical appearance. With the popularity they transitioned into a vlogging family and showed more of their daily life as high schoolers. From daily school work and extra curriculars to hanging out with family, the girls would film it and viewers could get a better sense of each girls personality, despite them sharing a channel. Being an identical twin was not there whole channel nor identity and continued to develop separate looks with Bailey cutting her hair and dying it often and Brooklyn keeping hers long. The girls would film independent day in the lives that would alternate within the videos, showing viewers their differences in daily task and life and continue to separate themselves from one another. If they were doing the same thing, which they often would, such as drill team, each girl would film their own experience of their time and only occasionally film together unless at home.
Not to say there weren’t popular twins before them, because there certainly were, but no twins were like them. Duos like the Dolan Twins or Merrell Twins, who will have their own post, did exist around the same time or slightly after Brooklyn and Bailey rose to fame. however, their popularity came from how alike they looked and content would often be based around that. Pretending to be a mirror of one another in Vines and playing twin based pranks on others produced their popularity. Brooklyn and Bailey weren’t popular purely for being identical twins, matching 24/7, or any gimmicks that often make people popular. They were simply themselves and also were twins, which did make them big but not popular.
Brooklyn and Bailey being identical twins and looking like such, opens a whole new avenue of curiosity. Because they were not typical twins that media had often portrayed at the time of being overtly secretive and closed off to everyone expect one another, they made a very positive impact. My mom would always say about my twin sister and I that “We were two separate people who happened to be born on the same day” and I feel that they exemplify that. They may have things in common and do stuff together, but they are not one. Their ability and showcasing of twins not being doubles, who do everything together positively impacted society view on twins and that being a twin in media does not limit your success within it.
Comments by Jaidyn Rivera