Elle Hunt Says 'Girl' Trend Undermines Women's Power as UN Warns Rights Are Regressing Worldwide
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Oct 3
Elle Hunt Says 'Girl' Trend Undermines Women's Power as UN Warns Rights Are Regressing Worldwide
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Oct 3
Summary
Elle Hunt argues the viral “girl” label attached to everyday habits—from “hot girl walks” to “girl dinner”—is not harmless fun but a self-infantilizing habit that weakens adult women’s authority.
Since the pandemic, she says, TikTok-fueled variants such as “clean girl,” “cool girl” and “tomato girl” have made the framing ubiquitous, while also turning it into a marketing vehicle for beauty products and fashion.
Hunt contends the language matters more because women’s rights are already “regressing worldwide,” citing the UN and warning that jokingly shrinking women’s status can aid efforts to disenfranchise them.
Her broader point is that adult women should assert political power and adulthood explicitly, rather than normalize a label she says echoes the dismissive line: “I’m just a girl.”