Tila Tequila, Neo-Nazism, and Queer Women in Social Media

Needless to say, no Facebook for her either. You are free to look up the rest of the stuff she’s posted, but fair warning – it’s a lot, and it’s not pretty.

Though it’s easy for Tequila to be written off as just another neo-Nazi nut (and indeed, she has been), maybe she shouldn’t be. A closer look at the intersection of Tequila’s entertainment career and her status as a queer woman of color gives a complex foundation for analyzing how she’s currently viewed in the media and by the public.

Mental Health and Female Breakdowns as Entertainment

In 2011, before she began using social media as a platform for her rants, Tequila made an appearance on the Howard Stern show and discussed how she suffered from severe mental health issues. She talked on the fact that she is bipolar, has multiple personalities (Jane and Caroline), and has suffered from drug abuse.

In 2012, Tequila checked into rehab after her struggle with drug addiction and an eating disorder. There was even speculation that the drug overdose that initially caused her to seek professional help, was actually a suicide attempt.

Even without her admission, a quick look at her other Facebook and Twitter posts seem to show signs of struggles with mental health. In the past, she’s posted that she is the reincarnation of Hitler, has been ritualistically murdered, and was attacked by reptilians from the Illuminati. Digital Trends even commented on how most of her posts “refer to a conspiracy or the idea that she has super-human abilities.”

Notably, all this hasn’t resulted in any lasting empathy or help. If anything, these have served as fodder for social media frenzy. Audra Schroeder, in an article in the Daily Dot, commented on the difference in representation for men and women, saying,

“Yes, there’s a lot of snickering at her conspiracy theories and Illuminati references and videos in which she attempts to create wormholes, but traditionally, social media treats female celebrities who might be mentally unstable much differently than men. Think about what people said to Amanda Bynes when she was going through manic phases on Twitter. It was viewed as entertainment.”

Female breakdowns, of course, have an interesting (read: sad) history all on their own, particularly when husbands could imprison their wives in institutions (The Yellow Wallpaper). And the inception of the vibrator. Tequila’s pro-Hitler and White Nationalist stance have certainly not helped. But her downward spiral, especially in regards to her struggles with mental health, seems like just another example in a long string of ways that sexism affects women.

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