Love this essay (I love all of your essays). One of the most evocative moments to me was certainly the encouragement of white women to empower themselves - the forces that infantilize white women are the same as the ones that masculinize women of color - when we fight these forces, proving that white women have agency and women of color can feel pain, we enable all women to be both protected and empowered
yes!! am not sure if you ever follow UK news but we had a summer of fascist rioting after the tragic murder of three girls in a dance class; literal Nazis holding signs saying 'protect our women' really drives home the points you're making.
Wow couldn't agree more!! Beautifully written and so topical right now - community is so important - especially with the rise of fascism in the US. As women, we are told to work to become whole people.
I think we are already whole, we just need to recognize that we have what we need inside of us already. And once we see this, we can help others realize the same.
Ugh thank you for pointing out the use of the word "just" in all this. In the same way that people make questionable comments and say it's "just a joke," these comments have power. And when a whole bunch of women girl-ify themselves, it's no longer just a joke or just a comment about how womanhood is hard. Now, it's far-reaching social commentary that only supports patriarchal values. Thank you for calling on community in this piece when it could be a lot easier (but not in any way more helpful) to be exclusionary.
Oh wow, my notes app is filled with attempts to articulate this and you’ve just blown them out of the water with this incredible piece.
The global regression into girlhood really stood out to me during the eras tour/peak of TS mania. While it’s been sometimes beautiful to watch (joy, silliness, sisterhood), witnessing swathes of women lose their ability to disconnect consumer choice from their own morality has been terrifying. Her fan base’s conflation of any valid criticism of Taylor (aka her safe apolitical distance, her pointed and successful monetisation of girlhood at 33, her tour’s carbon emissions) with anti-feminism and/or misogyny was so reductive and infantilising, all while providing the perfect distraction for the right’s attack on our power. We closed ranks around girlhood; we made friendship bracelets and defended Taylor’s right to exploit people (unrestricted resale platforms/multiple special edition releases are a joke) and the planet for billions, while our rights to womanhood were stripped away.
Obviously we need escapism to survive this nightmare, but god I’m sick of white women blindly walking into the same patriarchal trap, over and over again, oblivious to those we drag in with us. True support requires constructive criticism, and if we don’t examine the ways we’ve failed we’ll keep stumbling through this cycle. Grow up, girls indeed.
loved this, but was confused about the bows and Joan Didion line: is Joan Didion considered a "girlhood" writer now? Or were you trying to say that people often infantilize her (because she was thin, petite, and had a non-threatening appearance) as a way to downplay the power her words had? I've just never associated Didion with the whole "girlhood/bows" trend (I don't even think she ever wrote anything specifically related to girlhood, from what I can recall) so was confused why she was mentioned here. Didion often wrote about politics—would hate to see her work denigrated by lumping it in with the aesthetic trend of adult women wearing bows.
Didion, on the whole, was anti feminist, which I think is the reference here. Although, to your point, her anti feminism did fall into the opposite of the “girlhood” aesthetic - she was one of those anti feminists who seemed to think feminism’s embracing of “all women/choices” was wrong, and women should become more masculine to be equal. (Eg she didn’t believe childcare was a sore point for women’s liberation - see essay “The women’s movement” in The White Album - and believed women should be more “hard” - see essay “Georgia O’Keeffe” in the same book.)
Womanhood has always been pushed and pulled throughout history, but the sisterhood we’re building now is different. It’s about seeing each other, supporting each other, and refusing to shrink. Don’t let them trick you into giving up your power. We’re stronger together.
agree 110%. it's so interesting seeing these cycles -- i'm taking a class about film and censorship, and some of the earliest proponents of film censorship wanted to protect the "vulnerable populations" i.e., women and children. so much restriction has attempted to cover itself with the thin veil of protection, and it's important to note that as we move forward.
I think this is especially important in light of the fact that the fascism we're facing now comes as a result of decades of political maneuvering from white supremacist Christian nationalists, who are explicitly patriarchal. This return to girlhood, and the giving up of power that comes with it, serves the Christian nationalist goal of cementing an America where authority is not questioned, and where the authority is singularly white, Christian, militaristic men.
Your comments about Israel are ahistorical, and morally vapid. Here are just a few reasons why:
-Counting the number of the dead (either combatants or civilians) does not tell you who needs aid, who is more righteous, and who are allies should be. More German civilians died in WWII than British civilians. Should we have helped the German facists instead of our allies?
-The Palestinians who you say need, or perhaps in your logic, deserve, our assistance are the same Palestinians who launched this war. Since when do the aggressors in combat get to claim a moral high ground when they suffer losses?
-Ironic given the subject of your essay, but these Palestinians would execute on sight any transwoman that they could get their hands on
-Furthermore, the Palestinians who you express sympathy for are in fact, actual fasictss and mysoginsts who just released the remains of a mother and her babies that they murdered after holding them hostage. Gee, do you think that if they read your essay they would respect women's rights more?
I agreement with your sentiment, though I think I would have expressed it differently . "Grow up!" seems full with blame. I would instead tell women to feel and express their power, whether they identified as "girly" or not. Girliness is not synonymous with immaturity or helplessness.
Love this essay (I love all of your essays). One of the most evocative moments to me was certainly the encouragement of white women to empower themselves - the forces that infantilize white women are the same as the ones that masculinize women of color - when we fight these forces, proving that white women have agency and women of color can feel pain, we enable all women to be both protected and empowered
yes!! am not sure if you ever follow UK news but we had a summer of fascist rioting after the tragic murder of three girls in a dance class; literal Nazis holding signs saying 'protect our women' really drives home the points you're making.
Wow couldn't agree more!! Beautifully written and so topical right now - community is so important - especially with the rise of fascism in the US. As women, we are told to work to become whole people.
I think we are already whole, we just need to recognize that we have what we need inside of us already. And once we see this, we can help others realize the same.
Ugh thank you for pointing out the use of the word "just" in all this. In the same way that people make questionable comments and say it's "just a joke," these comments have power. And when a whole bunch of women girl-ify themselves, it's no longer just a joke or just a comment about how womanhood is hard. Now, it's far-reaching social commentary that only supports patriarchal values. Thank you for calling on community in this piece when it could be a lot easier (but not in any way more helpful) to be exclusionary.
eliza mclamb your beautiful mind
Superbly articulated - and this needs to be said unapologetically.
Oh wow, my notes app is filled with attempts to articulate this and you’ve just blown them out of the water with this incredible piece.
The global regression into girlhood really stood out to me during the eras tour/peak of TS mania. While it’s been sometimes beautiful to watch (joy, silliness, sisterhood), witnessing swathes of women lose their ability to disconnect consumer choice from their own morality has been terrifying. Her fan base’s conflation of any valid criticism of Taylor (aka her safe apolitical distance, her pointed and successful monetisation of girlhood at 33, her tour’s carbon emissions) with anti-feminism and/or misogyny was so reductive and infantilising, all while providing the perfect distraction for the right’s attack on our power. We closed ranks around girlhood; we made friendship bracelets and defended Taylor’s right to exploit people (unrestricted resale platforms/multiple special edition releases are a joke) and the planet for billions, while our rights to womanhood were stripped away.
Obviously we need escapism to survive this nightmare, but god I’m sick of white women blindly walking into the same patriarchal trap, over and over again, oblivious to those we drag in with us. True support requires constructive criticism, and if we don’t examine the ways we’ve failed we’ll keep stumbling through this cycle. Grow up, girls indeed.
loved this, but was confused about the bows and Joan Didion line: is Joan Didion considered a "girlhood" writer now? Or were you trying to say that people often infantilize her (because she was thin, petite, and had a non-threatening appearance) as a way to downplay the power her words had? I've just never associated Didion with the whole "girlhood/bows" trend (I don't even think she ever wrote anything specifically related to girlhood, from what I can recall) so was confused why she was mentioned here. Didion often wrote about politics—would hate to see her work denigrated by lumping it in with the aesthetic trend of adult women wearing bows.
Didion, on the whole, was anti feminist, which I think is the reference here. Although, to your point, her anti feminism did fall into the opposite of the “girlhood” aesthetic - she was one of those anti feminists who seemed to think feminism’s embracing of “all women/choices” was wrong, and women should become more masculine to be equal. (Eg she didn’t believe childcare was a sore point for women’s liberation - see essay “The women’s movement” in The White Album - and believed women should be more “hard” - see essay “Georgia O’Keeffe” in the same book.)
Womanhood has always been pushed and pulled throughout history, but the sisterhood we’re building now is different. It’s about seeing each other, supporting each other, and refusing to shrink. Don’t let them trick you into giving up your power. We’re stronger together.
thank you for the Naomi Klein recommendation! i was unaware of her work and i think i’ll order Shock Doctrine and her most recent work!
agree 110%. it's so interesting seeing these cycles -- i'm taking a class about film and censorship, and some of the earliest proponents of film censorship wanted to protect the "vulnerable populations" i.e., women and children. so much restriction has attempted to cover itself with the thin veil of protection, and it's important to note that as we move forward.
I think this is especially important in light of the fact that the fascism we're facing now comes as a result of decades of political maneuvering from white supremacist Christian nationalists, who are explicitly patriarchal. This return to girlhood, and the giving up of power that comes with it, serves the Christian nationalist goal of cementing an America where authority is not questioned, and where the authority is singularly white, Christian, militaristic men.
Your comments about Israel are ahistorical, and morally vapid. Here are just a few reasons why:
-Counting the number of the dead (either combatants or civilians) does not tell you who needs aid, who is more righteous, and who are allies should be. More German civilians died in WWII than British civilians. Should we have helped the German facists instead of our allies?
-The Palestinians who you say need, or perhaps in your logic, deserve, our assistance are the same Palestinians who launched this war. Since when do the aggressors in combat get to claim a moral high ground when they suffer losses?
-Ironic given the subject of your essay, but these Palestinians would execute on sight any transwoman that they could get their hands on
-Furthermore, the Palestinians who you express sympathy for are in fact, actual fasictss and mysoginsts who just released the remains of a mother and her babies that they murdered after holding them hostage. Gee, do you think that if they read your essay they would respect women's rights more?
As you say in your essay: grow up.
L - O - L !!!!!!!!!!!! the blatant dehumanization of this comment is crazy. get with the times jason!!!! open ur heart!!!!
Yeah, she lost me in this part. It seemed out of place and trying to drive an agenda point that doesn’t necessarily correlate with the main topic.
Amazing read & super relevant to some things we’ve been noticing and thinking about ourselves. Wow!
Tore
I agreement with your sentiment, though I think I would have expressed it differently . "Grow up!" seems full with blame. I would instead tell women to feel and express their power, whether they identified as "girly" or not. Girliness is not synonymous with immaturity or helplessness.