Has the Girl’s Girl Become the New Pick-Me Girl?
Is this the disguised weapon against the divine feminine?
TEXT
I know that even posing this question, I am going to face ‘pick me’ allegations. However, recently I’ve encountered the self-labelled girl’s girl. Aesthetically a distant cousin to the clean girl, the girl’s girl is supposed to be a figure of empowerment, loyalty and kindness.
She is the pinnacle of self-improvement, completely recovered from her own internalised misogyny, her beauty devastatingly understated. The girl’s girl is a social ideal, a figure that all women should seemingly aspire to be.
She never wears makeup, she has shoulder-length mousy brown hair but not so short it could be a bob, she is heroin chic skinny and of course, notoriously middle class.
Whilst it is true women should want to uplift one another rather than create competition, there is a certain toxicity that underlines the girl’s girl. I think it is in the way they constantly impose themselves as said type of “girl” whilst secretly praying on the downfall of others. It is a lifestyle of denial, a mindset of differentiating themselves from the rest.
These self-proclaimed and proudly labelled girl’s girls make it known to everyone that they would only ever pick women up, not apart. They loudly announce how they’ve worked on themselves, part of the post-feminist machine churning them out. They are the feminine ideal that you too can also attain if you just work hard enough to heal your own self, your own problems with the patriarchy.
I don’t think the girl’s girl doesn’t exist at all; I just think that they don’t label themselves in this way. They’ve done their fair share of unpicking the stitches of internalised misogyny, but being there for women is ingrained in the very fibres of their personhood. We move up the bench, always making extra room.
The girl’s girl is a disguise, one last desperate plea to look like the feminine ideal of self-improvement whilst desperately looking for validation. She both completely rejects men yet craves them to acknowledge the amount of effort she’s put into herself, mentally and physically.
Her words are shallow, her promises shallower, her actions a knife. She whispers “girlboss” in your ear whilst twisting your arm tightly up against your back.
I’m sick of these labels, and I’m sicker of women being trends: the clean girl, the pilates girl, the it girl, slut, bitch, whore.
Lose the prefix, let’s just be girls together. And maybe one day, whenever we choose, women.
I know that even posing this question, I am going to face ‘pick me’ allegations. However, recently I’ve encountered the self-labelled girl’s girl. Aesthetically a distant cousin to the clean girl, the girl’s girl is supposed to be a figure of empowerment, loyalty and kindness.
She is the pinnacle of self-improvement, completely recovered from her own internalised misogyny, her beauty devastatingly understated. The girl’s girl is a social ideal, a figure that all women should seemingly aspire to be.
She never wears makeup, she has shoulder-length mousy brown hair but not so short it could be a bob, she is heroin chic skinny and of course, notoriously middle class.
Whilst it is true women should want to uplift one another rather than create competition, there is a certain toxicity that underlines the girl’s girl. I think it is in the way they constantly impose themselves as said type of “girl” whilst secretly praying on the downfall of others. It is a lifestyle of denial, a mindset of differentiating themselves from the rest.
These self-proclaimed and proudly labelled girl’s girls make it known to everyone that they would only ever pick women up, not apart. They loudly announce how they’ve worked on themselves, part of the post-feminist machine churning them out. They are the feminine ideal that you too can also attain if you just work hard enough to heal your own self, your own problems with the patriarchy.
I don’t think the girl’s girl doesn’t exist at all; I just think that they don’t label themselves in this way. They’ve done their fair share of unpicking the stitches of internalised misogyny, but being there for women is ingrained in the very fibres of their personhood. We move up the bench, always making extra room.
The girl’s girl is a disguise, one last desperate plea to look like the feminine ideal of self-improvement whilst desperately looking for validation. She both completely rejects men yet craves them to acknowledge the amount of effort she’s put into herself, mentally and physically.
Her words are shallow, her promises shallower, her actions a knife. She whispers “girlboss” in your ear whilst twisting your arm tightly up against your back.
I’m sick of these labels, and I’m sicker of women being trends: the clean girl, the pilates girl, the it girl, slut, bitch, whore.
Lose the prefix, let’s just be girls together. And maybe one day, whenever we choose, women.
Enjoyed this story? Support independent gaming and online news by purchasing the latest issue of G.URL. Unlock exclusive content, interviews, and features that celebrate feminine creatives. Get your copy of the physical or digital magazine today!
