2023 has left a rosy tinge on everything. The Barbie movie still brings in millions, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé are everywhere, we eat “girl dinner”, do “girl math”, and give loving nicknames like “babygirl” to grown men like Cillian Murphy and Pedro Pascal. And if you can put a bow on it, then you put a bow on it. The “not like the other girls” trend is long over, and we are actually quite happy with being completely typical girls. Most important of all: You must be a “girl’s girl”, someone who does not pull other girls down for their own gain, but rather cheers them on. For the first time since you were four, it’s okay to like pink again. I get videos on TikTok of girls being miserable at pool, titled with the word “girlhood”. So that’s what it’s like to be a girl. Lack of skills. Others post videos highlighting a range of activities they call “girl hobbies”. Are you afraid you don’t have a hobby? Relax! Scrolling through Pinterest or going shopping are “girl hobbies”. The most provocative are those that explain serious topics, such as climate change or the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, as a catfight between high school girls. We girls do not understand what is happening in this world unless it is explained as an everyday quarrel over trifles. Do we want to be limited to pink and bows? When did pretending to be stupid become a girl thing? It seems that we are being “bimbofied” with pleasure. When “girl math” became a thing, there were several girls from fields where math plays a central role, who said they didn’t like the trend. They are good at maths. Many thought they were a bit overdramatic. Girl math is fun! It justifies spending money, even if it makes us feel guilty. And it can be a bit of fun. At the same time, it is portrayed as a less rational way of thinking, which men don’t really understand, and it has the prefix “girl”. It has an underlying message that girls are not that smart. We are pretty and we are stupid. Exactly! Bimbos. Some may think that these things are unimportant. That some girls suck at billiards and stick the word “girlhood” on, with bow and star emojis, is nothing to spend time on, is it? Relax then, just like the video and scroll on. But there is a problem when you take ordinary incompetence and make it a girl thing. Being bad at billiards is not a girl thing. My dad is a white man in his 50s and he doesn’t know the back and forth of the pool cue. I have known many boys who in maths class come to the conclusion that Jens owes 3.42 apples, when the bottom line is that he has 25 left. Or “boy math”, then. And we girls manage to understand the climate crisis and war without a chick flick analogy. In short: It’s not a girl thing to be stupid! This is misogyny wrapped up with a bow on top. I don’t want to yell at other girls for embracing typically girly things. The trend has also led to us talking more about experiences around being a girl. We focus more on supporting each other, and I honestly think that calling 40-year-old men “babygirls” is hilarious. Everyone should try calling a straight man “queen” at least once. In many ways, the “girl internet” has actually been exactly what it should be: by girls, for girls. When, on the other hand, it leads to us happily portraying ourselves as stupid, it becomes extremely problematic. Especially when you pretend it’s empowering at the same time. It’s not girly to be stupid. The bimbofication of women does not strengthen anything but the patriarchy.
ttn-69
Pink and bows – is that all we girls are? – Speech
