The summer of 2023 will probably go down in history as the season of girlhood and returning to the simple joys of being a woman. We can thank Taylor Swift and Greta Gerwig for bringing about this revolution. Girls are returning to wearing pink and glitter and making friendship bracelets in an unintentionally rebellious move to fight the patriarchy and reclaim the joy in things that were once used against us, while the ‘Barbie’ movie and Taylor’s Eras Tour are holding up the US economy (rightfully so if you ask me).
You can like or dislike Taylor Swift and her music, but her worldwide impact is undeniable. When the singer embarked on The Eras Tour earlier this year (her first tour since before COVID), the fans were beyond excited and expected it to be a spectacle. However, no one could predict just how revolutionary it would be. As the tour dates started, fans began to participate in the tour rituals of dressing up glamorously in album themes or themes of specific Taylor eras, making beaded friendship bracelets in bulk and bringing them to the shows to trade, and generally making these shows a powerful safe space for sisterhood and women supporting each other unconditionally. This started a season of girls going back to nostalgic things that we were told were ridiculous or immature but bring us endless amounts of joy, such as wearing flashy outfits and bright colours, having our little ‘girl’ routines, and starting to reclaim and celebrate living a gentle and colourful life without letting the society tell us it diminishes our power. If anything, letting these things make us feel more powerful than ever.
Then, we witnessed an on-screen celebration of girlhood in July when Greta Gerwig’s ‘Barbie’ hit the movie theatres. Women of all ages dressed in their best outfits in shades of pink to watch the movie that made us cry and want to hug our mums immediately. Even though it was criticised for being too simplistic and reductive, showing that men yet again managed to miss the whole point, this movie brought us back to the basics in a way nothing else did in a while. Girls in pink outfits greeting each other on the street by shouting “Hi, Barbie!” might seem funny, but it started a beautiful stream of support and healing among women after decades and decades of society trying to pit us against each other in every way possible. It’s not that this type of support and compassion hasn’t existed before, but it wasn’t as collectively noticeable as it has been this year.
When we were younger, especially in our teenage years, being a ‘girl’s girl’ used to be something shameful that we were ridiculed for, as if having interests that were deemed girly and feminine was somehow less than. These toxic patriarchal undercurrents run much deeper than we often realise – it’s enough to think about fandom and how girls are belittled for being ‘hysterical’ at concerts when boys are praised for acting the same way at football games. This is why America Ferrera’s monologue in ‘Barbie’ cuts deep for every woman, no matter how simple it may seem to someone who hasn’t lived the female experience. Being constantly told we’re not good enough, no matter what we do, and spreading ourselves too thin trying to constantly do too much at once is exhausting; only other women can understand that feeling.
The start of this revolutionary period, where we loudly celebrate ourselves and all women around us, is incredibly important, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. And the fact it happened through reclaiming our childhood joys and healing our inner young girls is as heart-warming as it is rebellious. Here’s to embracing girlhood more than ever and building an unbreakable support system for women everywhere.
Edited by: Aimee Missen