'The Whole World Has Joined A Self-Help Cult And Won't Shut Up About It'

We look at how well-meaning social media trends can reveal the fundamental issues that persist in society.

- Emma Ienzer

On TikTok, a new breed of femininity is brewing. “That Girl” wakes up before sunrise every morning. She sets off on a morning run – or yoga routine – and brews herself a beautiful iced coffee immediately after. Her workspace is flawlessly organised and categorised, stocked with plenty of neatly-kept journals. Also, “That Girl” happens to be effortlessly, and naturally, beautiful.

#ThatGirl is a trend that has been taking social media, particularly TikTok, by storm. It supposedly describes the perfect archetype for a healthy lifestyle, one which will ostensibly lead the viewer – who is often presumed to be female – to become the “best version” of herself. At first, all of these attributes seem to be good things. But experts say that the trend sets unrealistic, and sometimes toxic, standards.

Digital anthropologist Dr Crystal Abidin specialises in the study of online communities and influencer cultures. Despite #thatgirl’s inspirational veneer, Dr Abidin thinks that the trend is “an idealised way of packaging femininity, clouded in the language of wholesome wellness”.

“I think #thatgirl as a trend is not primarily of a healthy lifestyle and wellness, it’s actually primarily about middle classness,” says Dr Abidin. “If you think about the type of consumption [on show]... That particular sort of femininity is a middle-class femininity.”