To start off, what is the “That Girl” trend? What does it mean to be “that girl”?
The trend has been on TikTok for quite a while but has recently gained more attention at the start of 2022, with a rise in creators posting their New Year’s resolutions. A popular resolution, amongst Gen Z, is “getting your life together” – or, to quote this trend, “becoming that girl.”
Being “that girl” means living your life in a certain way. According to TikTok, this entails having a variation of the “that girl” daily routine. This routine typically involves an early wake-up followed by some form of exercise, reading or journaling, meditation, and lots of water, all the while making everything look aesthetically pleasing. It also requires the individual to have a healthy, “clean” diet along with being extremely organised and productive. This is in terms of work, schooling, and life in general. Overall, the trend’s goal is for an individual to be the best version of themselves through healthy habits that are supposed to be “easy” to implement.
We see so many examples of creators who seem to have effortlessly become “that girl”, but this is just surface level. The trend itself is extremely harmful to a multitude of reasons. Firstly, the lifestyle is not something everyone can easily achieve. Everything “that girl” does come with a certain level of privilege. To be able to put time aside in your day for recreational activities, such as reading or journaling, is a privilege that those who have long work hours, families to take care of, schoolwork to do, do not have. The items and clothing that creators following the trend use and wear are only accessible for those privileged enough to afford it. Even being able to eat healthily is a privilege to those who have access to certain kinds of food and prices.
Secondly, the trend promotes looking a certain way. When looking at images that appear when searching “that girl”, or watching those viral TikToks, we can clearly see that there is a specific physical appearance that most of the content has in common. To put it bluntly, to be “that girl,” an individual must be thin and white. This “requirement” is obviously a major issue, as it sends a damaging message to those trying to achieve this specific lifestyle: if you are not thin and white, you are not good enough to be “that girl.” This type of message can lead to body image issues, as well as people of colour being invalidated. The whole purpose of this trend is to be your best self – but how can someone do this if the way they look does not fit the image being lauded?
Lastly, the combination of the trend pushing extreme clean eating and thin, toned bodies only causes an unrealistic body and health standard that may perpetuate eating disorder tendencies. The trend depicts creators with “perfect” bodies and “perfect” eating habits being the perfect “that girl.” By only showing these types of creators, it can pressure a viewer wanting to participate to go to drastic measures in order to fit the mould of “that girl.” This makes the trend especially dangerous to younger viewers who are easily influenced.
Overall, “that girl” appears harmless and a good form of motivation on the outside, and by looking at some videos under the #ThatGirl hashtag, one can easily see how popular it is. Although the trend is popular and seems to be of good intent, the dangers of it cannot be overlooked. In the year 2022, with body-positive movements and “Love Yourself” campaigns everywhere, a trend like this cannot be ignored or tolerated. Being your best self should be about creating viable healthy habits that work for the individual. It should include loving the way you look no matter what, and it should not make anyone feel inferior or pressured to fit a very specific mould.