Cycle#03: The Summer (Year) of Girly Popš š»
Itās here! Itās here! Itās finally here!
If the time period between 2019-2022 had hot girl summer, and every year before that had some variation of whatever boy summer, I am very, very pleased to announce that Summer 2023 belongs to the girlies. Not just with the intention of it being some variation of a hot girl summer or a feral girl summer or whatever else, this summer is a celebration of being a woman, ft. all the joys associated with unabashed, brazen, in-your-face femininity. Iām not exaggerating when I say being a woman has taken off. Like, really taken off.
šš»Meet Girly Pop
Once upon a time, Girly Pop was a derogatory term ā stereotypically feminine, overly-bimbofied, ābasic.ā But a few profound pieces of work (read: One reel) have changed the perception completely. Girly Pop is now doing your skincare routine before bed, and actually having a nighttime routine you follow. Girly Pop is drinking water from a cute bottle, and doing something called āGirl Dinnerā (but more on that later). Girly Pop is replacing YOLO with saying ājust be a girly about it.ā In short, the stereotypically feminine tag has been turned over its head. Girly Pop is a head-over-heels romanticisation of being a woman, for everything that it holds.
š¬ Itās what weāre watching
First things first, letās get the obvious out of the way. Apparently mentioning Miss Barbs in the last couple of newsletters wasnāt enough, I have to do it in every single one I put out, since Iām clearly stuck in a hot pink purgatory, cursed for eternity, fighting a larger cosmic battle.
So yes, Barbie ā a very feminist Barbie ā which started marketing way back in January, set the tone for the summer, nay, the year, and cemented the notion of Girly Pop, using the girliest device known to mankind. You have to admit ā if Barbie, once considered a ācringeā but utterly feminine entity to attach yourself to is now in, it sends a message that being utterly feminine is, in fact, not cringe and kinda in. And yes, it helps that the kinda Cuteā¢ļøĀ movie has a cool feminist take by none other than feminist icon Greta Gerwig. And yes, it helps that the numbers speak for it too ā with box office numbers that rivals exclusively male directors, with almost total creative freedom. Just to be clear, thereās nothing radical or disruptive about it, apart from the fact that it is a feminist Barbie movie. But maybe there doesnāt have to be?
Because what itās done is, and please imagine me saying this in the most excitable voice a person can speak in, itās enabled so much girlie content to come out, with tangible, real excitement. Thereās the Polly Pocket movie with Lily J Collins, directed by Girls writer and actor Lena Dunham (problematic tings aside). An American Girl movie is in the works. Shows like The Summer I Turned Pretty, Emily In Paris, even And Just Like Thatā¦ (yes I will let the stupid show have this but why did they have to bring back Aiden why why why) all exist. And this is only a small number.
Content that reflects the inner working on women, with complex, grey female characters, created by women is finally coming into culture in a mainstream way. No room for condensed, reductive cool girl / manic-pixie-dream-girl narratives which forced women to pick sides; being a girl ā in a more authentic way than ever before, sans the caveats ā is being celebrated in all screens. The big ones, the silver ones, and even the ones on your phone.
š±Itās what weāre watching (phone screen version)
As I do my late night reading (scrolling through reels in a fugue state until my self Pavlov-d bedtime reminder chimes and instantly puts me to sleep), a central topic of conversation remains the joys of being a woman. Women on the internet have taken it upon themselves to celebrate their own gender like never before, and for the first time ā it feels like there is room for everyone, ranging from trad-wife, to clean girl, to tuna girl. Every distinctive aesthetic is being toasted to, usually to the sound of āOh, how I love being a woman!ā and even if you donāt have an aesthetic, thatās cool too.
Rather than being boxed into stereotypes, the -Core microtrends we spoke about last time (yes, I have lore now. Keep up!) now let you lean into the easy, real, fun aesthetic of everything fun about being a woman. You can be a tomato girl one day! And a strawberry girl the next! In fact, your very first food-style aesthetic could just beā¦
š Giiiiiirl Dinner
Letās talk about girl dinner. Riding the we-accept-everyone girlie high, for the first time in maybe ever, conversations about female eating habits arenāt around the benefits of eating one (1) singular almond (or the benefits of eating cheeseburgers while the writer is eating one {1} singular almond). Thereās real, and dareisay whole, messy conversations about the internetās favourite meal. A condensed definition of girl dinner states that itās a meal/snack plate made up of whateverās lying around. Like something 5 year old you would make and present to your parents, but adult you can actually eat.
The opposite of traditional female eating habits (instructions?), girl dinner is pure indulgence. Girl dinner is a pack of fizzy cola bottles with Blue Lays, a couple of cubes of sharp orange cheddar, and a Diet Coke. Girl dinner is a glass of wine, dino chicken nuggies, and two bags of butter lover popcorn before bedtime. Girl dinner is pure indulgence, and man, is it fun.
š¶ Butā¦ is it fun?
Cultural trends are a reflection of the world around us. But Girly Pop #isnātLikeTheOtherTrends. While the fun bits of it (clearly) arenāt inspired by, like, waking life ā a bunch of it has undertones that represent and take from the not-super-great part of our world in subtle ways. Razor-brand Billie recently created an unwinnable board game about womanhood, called āNo worries if not,ā and nothing I write can even come close to the sheer accuracy of this one.
āHow I love being a womanā is mostly girly, but a part of it also includes leaving DNA everywhere you go, and clutching your keys at night. Girl Dinner is a darker evolution of hot girl summer ā while hot girl summer was all about dressing up and living your best life, girl dinner has a more despairing tone ā which has been chalked up to the ongoing recession ā where you canāt feed yourself right. Girly Pop is Barbieland, but the real world isā¦ the real world.
I think what also took me so long to write this (like so f**king long) is that what am I really saying here? Analysing cultural trends feels like a little futile when the world is burning ā but in all honesty, Girly Pop, while at first glance may feel like a piece of fluff, is important in its own right.
For the first time, women are having their moment in the cultural zeitgeist, in a real, authentic way, and thatās worth celebrating. If nothing else, at least your aesthetic can be girl in despair over the state of the world, and know that thatās still Girly Pop.
For my rendition of Girly Pop ā it just hit midnight so itās time for an elaborate skincare ritual, and Iām travelling to a place with lots of sun, sand, and sea next week. Iām eating a cup of spicy veg noodles (girl dinner) and watching The Summer I Turned Pretty (girl content).
For your version ā stay tuned for what happens @ Brain Laundry.
Scrubba-dub-dub, b*tchesš§¼