This is my meal, I call this girl dinner. If you’re as chronically online on social media as I am, then you’ll probably be familiar with this TikTok audio.
With the rise of the girl dinner trend, users are also seeing more “girl-centric” TikToks such as girl math and girl shopping. But along with these fun trends also come the negatives from the public — is girl dinner just glorifying eating disorders? Is girl math just a justification of bad spending habits?
As a girl myself, all I can say to these comments are — is it really that serious?
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For the uninitiated, girl dinner is a trend where girls show off their favourite combination of foods that just hit right. The main takeaway of this trend is that it makes you feel good, and you’re happy with your creation because it’s essentially your special meal to indulge in.
That’s right — we’re talking about random assortment of snacks or wacky meals that girls put together on days where they are simply just too lazy to eat a “real” meal.
Some TikTok examples include the combination of corn cheese and fire noodles, or leftovers from the fridge to clear before they expire.
The trend then went on to take a fun twist — everything we like can be girl dinner too. The biceps of that hot celebrity we’re all simping for? That’s a full course meal of girl breakfast, lunch and dinner.
After the girl dinner trend comes girl math — a theory for the girlies who want to justify their shopping purchases. Girls on TikTok have come up with funny yet illogical theories to make these expenses not as “serious” as they appear to be.
For example, if an item costs $50 and shipping is $20, but if you hit $100 on purchases then you’ll be entitled to free shipping, then you must spend $100. This way, you’ll “save money” on the cost of shipping.
What makes these trends so fun? It’s relatable to girls. They made us realise that there are so many other girls who think and act similarly as we do.
Plus, it’s amusing to see their takes on it too. What is their girl dinner, and how is it different from mine? How do other girls justify their purchases when they are indecisive? It’s only human nature to want to see more and share our opinions too.
But of course, like most things for girls, there’s always something to ruin our fun.
Suddenly, the trends take on a serious twist. People are pointing out that “girl dinner” is a trend for eating disorders, with many posting that they only eat a crumb of cookie or a sip of coffee and label it “girl dinner”. While others say “girl math” is simply just our bad financial decisions.
If you ask me, most of these comments are looking at things from a very narrow perspective of girls that play into stereotypes. It comes with the assumption that girls don’t really eat, or that girls are too “dumb” to manage their own finances.
And of course not all of us are.
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Come on — girls who are hopping on board this trend aren’t that dumb. Girl dinner and girl math are just fun and silly trends for girls to share their cute quirks.
We’re talking about eating maggie and wings for dinner on lazy nights — as quoted from TikTok girls: “girl dinner is a feast, not a crumb”. Or buying that cute Love, Bonito dress we’ve been eyeing for days, but it just might be a little pricey.
We do know the logic in math, we’re just coming up with funny different ways to treat ourselves without guilt. You can’t lie to me by saying that no one experiences moments like these — men definitely do too.
These are just once-in-a-while occurrences — not an everyday lifestyle.
News channels have jumped onboard by twisting the trend against girls too — according to Straits Times, “girl math is used to justify spending”, while Today shared that “some say it’s fun, others warn of potential harm”.
On the contrary, when guys were dressing up in suits to watch the Minions movie, everyone was praising them for being so quirky and witty. Yet when it came to girls dressing up for the Barbie movie, suddenly it’s “too much” and “it’s not that serious”.
Turning trends around, pointing fingers at girls and saying “ha-ha, you’re all so stupid” is such a misogynistic mindset. Suddenly, we’re the bad guys for enjoying a TikTok trend.
I’d admit — there are risks to these trends. I’ve seen girls showing off that they don’t eat or spend recklessly on expensive stuff.
But honestly, like everything else on the internet, TikTok shouldn’t be taken seriously. People should lighten up and have a sense of humour — these videos are literally just seconds of someone’s life.
How can we easily believe that someone is living like this for real every single day? Please just take things at surface level — live, love, laugh and move on.
Ugh, having to explain a joke doesn’t make it as fun as it was before. As Cyndi Lauper sang, “girls just want to have fun”. But why is it whenever we want to have some fun, it always comes back to bite us in the butt?
Maybe it’s the way that society is just so negative about girls’ interests and constantly pushing this “girls are crazy” agenda in our faces. Hello, it’s 2023. We’re no longer living in the Victorian era.
Let us girls enjoy ourselves without forcing the responsibility of others’ lives onto us. And if we want to own the girl dinner and girl math trend to feel a sense of belonging in this fun community, then let us be.
Cover: Source, image courtesy of TheSmartLocal
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