With the rise of social influencers and the shifting focus to Instagram and TikTok, it seems as though our role models have become more accessible. Essentially, the new ideal isn’t what your everyday supermodel or movie star or famous singer does, but rather what the every day “that girl” does. That girl is someone who is closer in age to a Gen-Z like myself. She is an attainable ideal. Someone who probably gets sponsored just to be herself and live her life. She is someone whose lifestyle is so desirable she makes you want to be just like her. And the thing about “that girl,” is that she isn’t just one person.
So who does one spot “that girl”? Well, picture this. You are walking to class and you see a girl walking in the opposite direction, towards you. She has a matching Alo, an athleisure set, and a Starbucks in her hand. You notice her Northface book bag and a white Hydro Flask as you walk past. You imagine she probably went to the gym and ate avocado toast before leaving for class. Well, that’s one archetype.
Oftentimes, “that girl” advocates for you to live a more self-fulfilling lifestyle. She says, you should wake up early and make yourself some tea. Maybe green tea. As you drink your tea, she says, pull out a journal. Possibly this is the $30 ‘5-minute journal’ that you could purchase off of Amazon. After you journal it’s time to wear your matching workout set. Maybe this is from Gym shark or Alo or Nike? Of course before you head to the gym you listen to a PodCast on your walk. At the gym you are a runner. But wait, you also lift because we now know that lifting doesn’t make you bulky. And don’t we all want that athletic body? Finally, when you come home you eat oatmeal and grab a coffee before you set out to live your day.
Now, what aspiring to be this girl does is it shows young women the apparent process that goes into being more like their role models. Instead of just seeing snippets of their life through pictures or seeing their seemingly perfect bodies, they now get to sneak a peek into what their lifestyle is really like.
Oh and remember, “that girl”? Well, she is also quirky. Oooo and she has the perfect skincare routine. See, so easy! She is supposed to be attainable, but is she really?