As I’m sure so many have, I spent my childhood and time as a teenager being ashamed of liking things that were too ‘girly’ and trying to prove to people around me that I had interests that weren’t feminine. I never questioned why I was feeling this shame or why women, and girls specifically, were lesser, and our hobbies embarrassing. This is why I’ve been so enthusiastic about the recent celebration of girlhood in media and the space it creates for these young girls who feel like they’re not as valued as a demographic and allows them to express that which they enjoy freely and without shame.
I believe this started with the phenomenon that was the ‘Barbie Summer’ of 2023 paired with the beginning of the American leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. The Barbie movie directed by Greta Gerwig was entirely a celebration of women and worked as an introduction to feminism for young impressionable girls. The phenomenon that was ‘Barbie summer’ saw women and girls everywhere embrace the colour pink, a stereotypically feminine style of clothing, and not feel shame for it.
This was also simultaneously happening with (primarily teenage) girls dressing up in a largely overall feminine style to attend the Eras Tour with groups of friends. This sense of camaraderie and belonging allowed girls to embrace their femininity and feel proud of being girls. This has continued ever since with the concept of the girl being celebrated through many different trends such as the “hot girl walk”, “girl dinner”, and the “I’m just a girl”.
These trends have been shining a light onto a demographic which has been kept in the dark for so many years and bringing them together rather than pitting them against each other. The fact that all of these trends are rooted in a woman’s enjoyment and not focused around men is what makes it so different to previous years where the majority of trends for young girls were rooted in performing for the male gaze. While obviously there is a long while to go to achieve a social sphere where girls are allowed to be girls freely, I have really enjoyed the seemingly recent shift towards creating safe online communities for girls where they can embrace femininity without judgement and am excited to see how it progresses.