The hill I will die on: not everything is a ‘girl’ thing – stop gendering and infantilising it all
No, I don’t want to go for a girl walk before my girl dinner with my girl mates: I am a grown woman who walks and eats and votes – and, patriarchy, I am on to you
TL;DR
- The author critiques the trend of adding 'girl' to everyday activities like 'girl coffee', 'girl work', 'girl weights', and 'girl dinner'.
- This trend, popularized by TikTok, includes iterations like 'hot girl walks', 'clean girl', 'cool girl', and 'tomato girl'.
- The author finds the trend infuriating, viewing it as self-infantilizing and a gateway to consumerism.
- She argues that in a time of regressing women's rights, this trend of framing adult women as 'just girls' cooperates with those seeking to disenfranchise them.
- The author likens the attitude to the 'Don’t ask me – I’m just a girl!' sentiment from Malibu Stacy, which she refuses to adopt.
- She advocates for grown women to stand firm in their political power and express it, rather than resorting to infantilizing language.