Girlhood’s definition can be defined by many different things. Some of us may see girlhood as an escape from reality, rewinding the time back to when we were young. Others may see girlhood as the evolution into becoming a woman and having to navigate the real world. Coming off of a year like 2023 when girlhood was celebrated (Barbie made over a billion dollars at the box office, hair bows got a resurgence, and even the coquette aesthetic made a comeback) it feels like Gen Z is truly embracing girlhood and the idea being young more than ever.
I’ve always found myself fascinated by the idea of girlhood. And as a college student, the conversation about holding onto your youth has never felt so real. I feel as if the older I get, the more I try to stay in tune with girlhood and what I enjoyed most when I was younger.
It’s such a juxtaposition to the recent phenomenon seen on TikTok, where Gen Z is trying to desperately hold onto their childhood while Gen Alpha embraces the idea of getting older. Seeing young girls buy retinol or bronze drops to age themselves while Gen Z women buy pleated dresses and frilly is a stark difference.
But I don’t think that this is a new occurrence. In fact, I think this is something that happens on a generational basis. I remember being 12 years old in 2014, just beginning middle school, and feeling like the world was stacked against me. I couldn’t see myself fitting into the popular crowd and it didn’t help that I had no self-confidence at that time.
I remember going to school and seeing how other girls in my class were actively dressing older. Of course, this was the era of Aéropostale, Hollister, Vera Bradley, and Miss Me jeans, so they were fitting in just fine. I realized that if I wanted to fit in and get people to like me, I had to play the part. I bought everything that everyone was wearing and tried my best to look the part.
It never really worked for me, but the older I’ve gotten, the more I’ve realized that I want to hold onto parts of girlhood in my adult life. I wear ribbons quite often as a symbol of my youth, and while I am still young, I do find myself gravitating toward who I was as a child. I don’t think the idea of Gen Alpha experimenting and buying makeup is outlandish, but rather, a pattern between generations. There’s a fine line between girlhood and womanhood, and how hard it can be to process it.
At the end of the day, we are all just girls trying to find our place in this world. It’s so unbelievably hard to find ourselves in a climate that demands so much. But if we keep holding onto the idea of girlhood while honoring our present selves, embracing who we are won’t ever be a second thought.