Phrases like “I’m just a girl,” “girl math,” and “girl dinner” have entered the Gen Z lexicon in the past few years. While framed as cute and ironic, they often reinforce negative stereotypes about women. Under the guise of embracing girlhood and womanhood, Gen Z women have instead merged incompetence with femininity.
Since 2023, the idea of the “girl’s girl” has been widely promoted on social media apps like TikTok. A “girl’s girl” uplifts other women and doesn’t view them as competition. However, this term became shallow very quickly. Last summer, Kylie Jenner was praised for being the ultimate girl’s girl. What did she do? In a TikTok comment, she told people the size of her breast implants, which doctor put them in, and how she had them inserted. The cosmetic surgery industry preys upon women’s insecurities, and surgeries like breast augmentations can result in health complications. This is a very low bar, when someone with Kylie’s wealth and status could do a lot to uplift women.
The brand of feminism popular among millennial women is coined “girlboss feminism” – feminism centered around careers and professional ambition. There are plenty of valid critiques to be made about girlboss feminism; it ignores women who don’t have the ability to partake in hustle culture, it isn’t inclusive of women who choose less ambitious careers or motherhood, and it was centered around money and power. However, whereas Gen Z feminism revolves around buzz words, consumerism, and appearance; girlboss feminism at least encourages women to focus on their goals and dreams, and asks that women be judged by their accomplishments and personality.
A common feeling among young women is an aversion to pregnancy and motherhood. This is completely valid, and nobody should feel pressured to become a parent if they do not want children. In fact, I personally relate to this feeling. However, on social media, people have gone from simply being child-free to being outright cruel to pregnant women, mothers, and children. Creating TikToks that label pregnancy as “body horror,” or leaving comments like “where’s the girl with the list?” (a reference to a creator who listed reasons not to get pregnant) on videos of expecting and new mothers is harmful. Perpetuating the idea that pregnancy “ruins” a woman’s body and making mothers who are going through a difficult time feel even worse about their appearance isn’t feminism; it’s bullying. The movement to create childfree spaces is exclusionary to women because women are still the primary caretakers of children. Pregnant women, mothers, and children are some of the most vulnerable people in society, and they deserve our kindness and support, not constant reminders that they are less attractive to us and that their presence is not desired in public.
If Gen Z truly wants to make a change, our feminism should have much more depth. We should support and care for other women even if their choices, bodies, and values don’t align with ours. It’s important to take back our agency and celebrate our accomplishments while rejecting narratives that are damaging to women. Feminism should take hard work. It should require us to think critically and even be a little uncomfortable.
