Margo's Got Money Troubles

Content Warning: The source text depicts drug use and addiction. It mentions sexual assault and contains offensive and derogatory language surrounding sex work.

The term “Hungry Ghost” is an important motif in the book. It comes from one of Margo’s favorite poems that Mark wrote for her during their affair, and Margo ends up adopting the term as her username when she starts an OnlyFans account. This phrase shows how Margo takes control of her narrative and subverts Patriarchal Standards of Women’s Morality. She takes a phrase that emerged in a sexually exploitative relationship and reuses it to assert her own power and identity.

As Margo delves deeper into the world of OnlyFans, “Hungry Ghost” evolves from just a username to a persona. Margo takes on the role of “Ghost” in the TikToks she makes with Rose and KC, playing an alien that is always hungry. The evolution of “Hungry Ghost” from just words to a character with a backstory and personality showcases two things: It shows Margo’s growing comfort with creating and putting out content on the platform, and it also highlights how deeply parts of her authentic self and identity are slowly getting enmeshed into her online persona.