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Opinion: Of late, social media platform TikTok has witnessed a new wave of popular content revolving around “girl” trends. From “girl dinner” to “girl math”, these trends have become an inescapable part of TikTok. They allow us to connect with each other over shared experiences and find humour in trivial or mundane aspects of living. But these “girl” trends also raise significant concerns about whether they infantilise women.
It’s common to see TikTok user content revolving around “girl” trends go viral: they’re being rewarded by the platform’s algorithms for creating short-form videos that resonate with their peers. Some “girl” trends appear slightly quirky and harmless: take the “tomato girl” aesthetic that celebrates the romance of laid-back Mediterranean living and dressing in flowy, feminine silhouettes.
Other trends, like “girl dinner”, which showcase a dinner comprised of light snacks or a grazing platter, have come under scrutiny from health professionals, who question whether they favour aesthetically pleasing, low-calorie foods over nutritionally sound meals.
It’s hard to step back and critique a concept like “girl dinner” when it’s just so relatable. For those of us accustomed to eating dinner alone after a long day at work, why bother getting out all the pots and pans and cooking something when it’s just as easy to forage in the fridge and pantry for an array of nibbles? And in a world where we millennials prioritise convenience, is “girl dinner” lazy or just a way to work smarter, not harder?
However, the key commonality among these trends is the use of the word “girl” to refer to adult women. Some argue it reduces our experiences and identities to simplistic, childlike narratives. In the case of “girl dinner”, to onlookers, do we just come across as hopeless and clueless?
Another “girl” trend, “girl math”, is intended as a lighthearted, humorous take on justifying spending decisions. Still, it perpetuates harmful gender stereotypes that women are not good at maths or critical thinking.
As “girl math” logic goes, using cash means you purchased an item for “free” because cash isn’t real money, or returning a faulty item or cancelling a beauty appointment is making a “profit”. Admittedly, as nonsensical as “girl math” seems, it also just makes sense — there’s been many a time I’ve reasoned with myself that the cost of buying a new handbag is “basically free” after calculating the cost per wear.
@themumseditt Bye bye secure financial future. #girlmath
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Simran Kaur, the podcast host and author behind the Girls That Invest brand, says “girl math” offers “a tongue-in-cheek perspective on consumer behaviour, wrapped up with our Kiwi humour.”
However, Kaur questions whether “girl math” oversimplifies and trivialises financial habits. She says her “podcast listeners complain that they’re not being taken seriously when it comes to money. For example, banks often assume their partners are the breadwinner and/or in charge of money at home.”
Kaur believes that addressing these stereotypes demands a multifaceted approach. “To start, there’s an urgent need for comprehensive financial education. Research from ASB Bank in 2021 found that although Kiwi women make less than men, they actually save more. Female investors also make more gains in the sharemarket than their male counterparts.
“It’s not a competition or gender war, but celebrating women’s success stories in finance and amplifying female voices in financial discourses can shift perceptions and challenge age-old biases. I’m unsure if ‘girl math’ falls into that category”.
At the end of the day, there’s something comforting about knowing that hundreds of thousands of others around the globe also dabble in a bit of “girl math” or partake in a “girl dinner” from time to time. But when there’s no such thing as “boy math”, and these “girl” trends minimise the complexity of what it means to be a woman, we tread a delicate balance between celebrating girldom and promoting problematic stereotypes.
