Ep. 5/ Girlhood is an Aesthetic
And I’m here for it!
Oh my God! There's no denying that 2023 was the ultimate "Year of the Girlies," and obviously, I loved every bit of it. You know, we were in the thick of the summer of Barbie, then there was the Eras Tour. I think the new "Little Mermaid" movie came out. Beyoncé’s iconic tour looks were going around everywhere. You couldn't really walk a block without running headlong into leg warmers and ballet flats or Mary Janes and pleated schoolgirl skirts and, like, bows - so many bows. Also, I am pretty sure the color pink had an actual cultural renaissance. It was all so fabulous.
What made it all ever so delightful was how girlhood transformed every aspect of life into something joyous. A simple treadmill session turned into a hot girl walk, and a late-night ramen run became girl dinner. Cleaning your apartment? That's now a clean girl aesthetic. And we don’t just go out to watch movies anymore, we dress up for them. I still remember how when I went to watch the Barbie movie this happened:
A gorgeous girl (an absolute stranger) dressed like Tinker Bell but in pastel pink: Hi Barbie.
Me (in my hot pink dress): Hi Barbie.
The boy she was with: Hi Barbie.
Me: Hi Ken.
The girl (with a playful grin): Oh! He’s at best an Allen.
That had me in stitches. I don’t think I'll ever forget this hilarious exchange.
What I love the most is that even if fluffy femininity isn’t for you, there’s something in the wide and vast world of girlhood that will interest you. There are so many types of girlies: the Instagram/TikTok girlies, the sports girlies, the corporate girlies, the gym girlies, the surviving on Starbucks girlies, the musically gifted girlies, the women in STEM girlies, and countless others. There are as many ways to be a girlie as there are to be a human being, which lends the word both its charm and its wholesomeness.
I think in 2024 I am going to continue to lean into this celebration of girlhood. After all, it has served me well so far. Whether it was walking to my classrooms in my high heels, tapping away on my computer with my freshly manicured nails, or just going onto a stage and speaking in my shrill, extremely womanly voice, embodying all the traits that the society deems as girly never really stopped me from pursuing my career in programming, mobile development, and sports, all of which happen to be male-dominated fields. I am an ardent believer that accepting and appreciating my femininity has brought insuperable amounts of strength to my soul. This identity of new-age womanhood that is, like, rooted in the idea of joy, lightness, and playfulness of girlhood is such a smash. It’s a cute little happy pill that makes everything a tad bit better and prettier. When does this girlhood end, you ask? The limit does not exist. (It’s a Mean Girls reference if you know it, I love you already)
We, as women, are no longer taking permission to profess our gender, instead, we’re taking pride in it, we’re adding play to it. The sheer ability to choose to enjoy being ourselves and add whimsy to our being is what’s beautiful.
The only potential downside of this could be if we actually started to infantilize ourselves but just because we are reveling in our unending girlhood doesn't mean we are shrugging our responsibilities. This isn’t about ditching our daily duties but rather doing them with the idea that it’s going to be fun and in a way that makes them pretty to us and I don’t really understand why this version of an adult woman would surprise anyone? My generation grew up with movies like Clueless, Legally Blonde, Dil Toh Pagal Hai, and Aisha and characters like Poo from Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham, Shanaya from Student of the Year, and Veronica from Cocktail. Of course, we started having fun with our expression of selves as soon as we became financially secure enough to do that.
When I went to watch The Eras Tour Concert Movie (yes, I went to watch the concert movie after I had gone to the actual concert. I played my part in making Taylor Swift a billionaire and I loved every minute of it, anyway I digress) a teenager was sitting next to me. We danced and sang together. When the song Betty came on we were practically riffing off each other with Taylor providing the background vocals. It was so much fun. At the end of the movie, she slid a bracelet onto my chair, when I noticed I told her I was sorry. I didn’t know we’d be trading friendship bracelets at the movie so I didn’t bring any. Turns out the girl was extremely shy and a massive introvert. She didn’t really like talking to people or going out. Apparently, the bracelet was her way of thanking me for making her feel safe and comfortable. To this day I’m not sure what I did deserve such a sweet gesture. To this day I sleep with a friendship bracelet that reads BETTY on my nightstand. But to me, that’s what girlhood truly is all about: finding sweetness in small moments, having fun every once in a while, and being so unapologetically yourself that people around you feel at ease to be themselves as well.
So maybe life can’t be all prettily packaged up, neatly tied in a bow, but I can be. Watch me.
Until next time.
Xoxo
