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With a quick scroll on any social media platform, you’re bound to run into many of the emerging “girl” aesthetics: soft girl, clean girl, strawberry girl, and even tomato girl — the list goes on. Women and femme-presenting folks are redefining their relationship with womanhood and creating trending topics we are absolutely living for. With the world being a dumpster fire on multiple fronts (although there is an argument for a bit of optimism amid the calamity), the girlies and non-binary baddies are finding inspiring ways to keep on keeping on.
How we see it: hot girl summer walked so girl math could run, and we are here for the unified girly-pop energy of it all. (Honestly, we’re sure that Renaissance lady and her Americana counterpart are proud of the vibes.) But if you need a bit of inspiration for girlifying your more mundane adulting tasks, keep scrolling. Here’s how a few of our editors are embracing their own girlification with daily sprinkles of empowerment. Who runs the world? Us!
Take a Hot Girl Walk to Your Local Park
“When I first started working from home during the pandemic, I found myself missing my old routines. I started taking a morning walk each day as a sort of ‘mental commute’: before sitting down at my desk for the workday, I would put on headphones, press play on a podcast, and take a stroll through my neighborhood park.
What started as a way to get out of the house has turned into one of my favorite times of the day. Even now that I’m back in the office three days a week, I’ve kept up the habit. My morning walks not only help me get my body moving and blood pumping before settling into a mostly sedentary workday, but also give me a dose of morning sunshine that wakes me up — even before I have my first cup of coffee. I even save a reserve of my favorite podcasts just for my morning walks. When I get to start a new episode of my go-to true-crime podcast, it feels like a treat, instead of just another Tuesday morning.
In fact, I’ve become such a fan of my walks that I even found a group of local women who meet every Saturday morning in the same local park for a stroll. When I first started my solo walks, I never would have guessed the habit would have helped me build a whole community of amazing women — but I’m so thankful it has.”
— Annalise Mantz, Senior Editor, Branded Content (she/her)
Exercise Your Silly Period Cramps Away
“When I was younger, the last thing I wanted to do on my period was move my body, let alone exercise. However, as I step confidently into my 30s, I’ve discovered younger me had it all wrong. Exercise has been a game-changer to how I work with my menstrual cycle instead of against it. Exercising before and during my period relieves my cramps significantly, helps with bloating, and significantly boosts my mood. Those shots of dopamine after a 30-minute workout routine are life-changing and so necessary.
What also helps me feel confident is wearing tampons that I know won’t give up on me during my workout. Playtex® Sport® Tampons ($8) have a secure FlexFit and 360-degree sports-level protection so they move with me — especially while I’m twerking to my music between sets. The tapered tip and non-slip grip make insertion easy and comfortable, giving me the confidence I need to continue on with my day. Depending on the day, I’m rotating between regular and super absorbency (and even ultra around day three and four.) The last thing on my mind when I’m literally running from my cramps is a leak, which I’m really thankful for.”
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— Moná Thomas, Editor, Branded Content (they/them)
Update Your Budget Tracker With Pretty Colors
“I’ve never enjoyed talking about money — or spending it. Financial literacy wasn’t something we were taught in school (we were too busy learning how to create clipart), and by the time I started earning my own money in college, I was afraid of having it or, even worse, losing it.
But if you too have dated countless financial consultant bros, you’ll know that even when you try to ask the right questions and learn, you will sometimes (more often than not) be hit with a know-it-all wall of testosterone, which can quickly make you feel incompetent for not having a Roth IRA.
This year, I turned to TikTok: to the girls who filled my FYP with the pretty expense tracker templates. They taught amateur budgeting — but for girls! — and the more I scrolled, the less scary and tedious tracking my money seemed. What probably sounds like spreadsheets 101 to some people became my saving grace. I’m not above saying that I feel genuine joy when I add a tiny checkbox next to my streaming subscription auto-payments or see a pie chart auto-populate based on how much money I’m actually spending on makeup, student loans, and coffee. These aesthetically-pleasing spreadsheets have softened the blow of spending money.
Nothing about these budgeting templates are inherently gendered, but I’ve never seen a man color code a money tracker titled Save and Slay. And while I may never date another financial consultant again, I will make sure to tell the next one I meet all about my ‘girl budget.'”
— Samantha Sasso, Senior Editor, Branded Content (she/her)
Eat a Balanced Girl Dinner
“I grew up in a strict three-meals-a-day, finish-your-plate household. Eggs were only eaten at breakfast. Dinners always had protein, starch, and a vegetable. So as I began meal planning for my spouse and myself, I found myself adhering to similar restrictions. Suffice it to say, this kind of cooking is not only a recipe for dinner-time burnout — it’s downright boring. Plus, it leaves exactly zero space for you to listen to your body. If I had a late (or larger) lunch, for example, I wasn’t hungry for salmon, potatoes, and green beans come dinner. If I had my period and would do unspeakable things for a bowl of ice cream at 6 p.m, that salmon wasn’t going to cut it.
That was until I discovered ‘girl dinner’ — the social media trend that took over feeds and FYPs. Of course, as a busy adult with no kids, I occasionally considered a cheese plate, deli turkey slices, or microwave popcorn to be a meal — but it always came with guilt that I wasn’t a ‘good’ home-cook (or ‘proper’ grown-up, for that matter) until girl dinners went viral. Now, I keep a grab-and-go drawer with balanced options in my fridge, for nights when a girl dinner is necessary. I stock it with items that look like they might belong in a kid’s lunch box: individual servings of hummus, string cheese, fruit snacks, pre-cut vegetables, and some chocolate.
Between these options (and of course, deli meat, yogurt, and the occasional fancy cheese), I can not only put together a meal in seconds, but I can listen to my body and intuitively give it what it actually needs. Of course, I still cook real dinners too: but if I’m just not feeling it one night, there’s no more shame in reaching for my girl-dinner essentials.”
— Christie Rotondo, Associate Director, Branded Content (she/her)
