What even is being a “girl’s girl”? I first heard this term used on social media a few years ago, and my perception of it is being supportive of a girl no matter the circumstance. In the words of Serena from Love Island, “I support women’s rights and wrongs.” But, is that the attitude that all women are adopting? Are there various perspectives of what being a “girl’s girl” is? My questions needed outside sources, so I reached out to some peers at Emerson to see what they thought.
Metzli Esparza said, “I think being a ‘girl’s girl’ means someone who is loyal to her friends and genuinely cares about them. I don’t think it’s a super complicated thing or just like a trend to be a ‘girl’s girl’ I feel like it’s something everyone should just try to be all the time because all it really means is to be a good friend.”
I think with the different environments we are all surrounded by, there are different people and perspectives, which makes it hard to surround ourselves with positive and uplifting attitudes. That’s why being a “girl’s girl” is so important. Esparza said, “I definitely think it’s possible anywhere to be a ‘girl’s girl,’ especially at a school like this where its majority population is women. And I’ve for sure met people here that are ‘girl’s girl.’ I’m lucky enough to have a close circle of just really amazing and caring people.”
My understanding of Esparza’s input is that being a “girl’s girl” is about solidarity and positivity. Fellow Emersonian Sonisai Loeung Rinehart thinks that being a “girl’s girl” is like “being on a team,” she said. “I think the goal of a ‘girl’s girl’ is to always have each other’s backs and always stick up for each other.” I think this is a really important thing to consider in regards to the definition of a “girl’s girl” because in my opinion it’s not always just standing up for one another but also understanding each other’s different perspectives, too. In agreement with Esparza and Loeung Rinehart, it’s truly about women’s solidarity and lifting each other up.
Despite that, solidarity and support can be challenging considering we are in college working towards our degree, and everyone is so competitive. Because of that, sometimes we can be quick to judge and compete with each other. It’s easy to fall into that, I know I have fallen into it before—especially since I started attending college and my major, Journalism, is very competitive. But, something that I needed to remember was the solidarity women could have by supporting each other rather than the dissonance as a result of competing with each other.
At the end of the day, there will be many different perspectives about what being a “girl’s girl” is. But, something that my sources and I can agree on is that we should always be there for the accomplishments of women and stand tall enough with them to celebrate them, too.