“Girl math!” Cassandra Mazzucco and Maya Hall exclaimed in a video posted on TikTok. Hall showed of her newly-purchased $38 purse, which meant “it’s $30. (Round down, not up).” Mazzucco then explained that she spent $200 at a store but that she bought nothing from any other stores she walked into: “So, when you spread it out, that was good.” Hall echoes semi-sarcastically, “You saved money. Girl math!”
This summer, “girl-blank” trends took over TikTok. No matter where on the internet I went, #girldinners, #girlmath, #Barbiegirls, and many more were there—inescapable, but in a good sense.
Unlike most microtrends on the platform, this digital embrace of the word “girl” also took over parts of my life in the real world. Seeing a cultural shift online encouraged me to reckon with both my feminine and feminist identities these past few months.
Since June of this year, various microtrends—in the case of TikTok, digital trends that last from a few weeks to just a few months—embraced what I’m choosing to call “girl-ism.” The trends typically featured a relatable action, like #girldinner or #girlmath, where girls showed off their low-effort meals enjoyed alone (think: blueberries, leftover pasta, and guacamole) and habits of justifying spending (“cash money doesn’t count as real money since it does not detract from a bank account”), respectively. #hotgirl walks involved women going on power-walks as a form of self-care: what you are grateful for, your goals, and just how hot you are.
According to the analytics platform TikTok Creative Center, these terms were mostly nonexistent before this summer, but have quickly skyrocketed in popularity. Every single term previously listed reached record engagement in June, July, August, or September of this year. #girldinner alone has reached two billion views since its creation in May. Collectively, “girl-blank” trends have reached more than three billion views on TikTok in the last 120 days.
The increased engagement these past few months with “girly” trends initially made me queasy. To me, “girl” implied an overly feminine (whatever that means!), immature, irresponsible, or incapable woman. Its literal definition is “female adolescent.” Even now, if a man were to call me “girl,” I would respond negatively because it would feel condescending.
However, seeing the community of women online reclaim this word indicates a larger and more empowering cultural shift to me. I see women not just embracing their feminine or hyperfeminine identities but also ignoring what the patriarchy has conditioned us to do by putting no intention into pleasing men. #girldinner is all about making a meal that works for you, not whoever you have to cook for as a significant other or mother. Hot girl walks are all about taking time to reflect on yourself.
There is a radical freedom in all of this. It makes me proud to be a young woman with a feminine and feminist side, because I realize now that they are not mutually exclusive. A woman can wear pink, like makeup or fashion, not cater to men, and also believe in gender equality.
Though some may be quick to point out that these microtrends were just that—microtrends—I disagree. The audience for this content is here for more. Even though the trends are inevitably dwindling online, I still joke with my friends about #girldinner and #girlmath. Judging by how many of these trends caught on this summer and that they collectively reached billions of views, I believe they can and will in the future, too.
From the Hot Girl Summer of 2023 emerges a broader lesson I hope TikTokers, media creators, and even businesspeople will consider: women deserve to see all aspects of our womanhood unapologetically and normally embraced, “girlism” and all. It is a smart decision and one that half the world will rally behind.
