Everything you need to know about the "That Girl" trend

And why you dont need to be her.

TW: This article contains discussions around food, exercise and both mental and eating disorders.

When I think of "that girl", I think of a woman who is impeccably dressed, who has woken up early with clean skin and freshly washed hair. She is stress free, in a confident headspace and determined mindset. She never sweats, drinks anything green and goes to bed early, all while hustling throughout the day and still managing to exercise and socialise. She is the impossible woman, and this is why we dont need to be her.

You may have come across this trend on platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok. It's unclear who or where the trend originated from, however the aesthetic has been heavily pushed by influencers such as Emma Chamberlain, Grace Beverley and Olivia Neill. These creators share content on their social media pages which appears 'effortless', 'minimal' and 'fresh', despite the unassumed level of work that actually goes on behind the scenes.

What are the aspects and routines of the "that girl" lifestyle?

• Drinking water in plentyful amounts - often with lemon.

• Eating only healthy and nutritious foods - often vegan and plantbased meals.

• Reading books to develop the mind.

• Consuming anything green - especially matcha and avocados.

• Working out and doing Yoga/Pilates.

• Following an extensive skincare routine religiously.

• Living a sustainable lifestyle as much as possible.

• Using expensive minimalist technology to earn high wages.

• Wearing elegant jewellery.

• Having fresh nails, clean and styled hair and a glowy natural tan.

When you look at this list on the offset, the thing that most of these appear to have in common is that they are good for you. It's understandable to think that surely this must be the best type of trend to come along - one that encourages young people to do as many healthy things as possible for themselves. Yes it is a better trend than vaping, playing too many video games or getting drunk and doing drugs, but it has its own harmful effects that on the surface are tricky to recognise.

The lifestyle and habits of the "That Girl" trend may be followed successfuly by some, but for others the path leads towards an addictive and restrictive routine. Orthorexia is a condition where a person develops an unhealthy obsession with restricting their diet and lifestyle to only consuming "pure" foods and products. This is a condition which can creep up slowly on a person, as they delve into a mentality that views anything that isn't pure eg. wholefoods, plantbased, organic, raw, green etc. as harmful to their health. Dividing foods into groups of pure and forbidden leaves a person thriving when they are consuming the 'right' foods but anxious at the thought of eating anything off plan.

Writer and YouTuber Melanie Murphy has previously discussed her experience of developing orthorexia in her early twenties.

"It gets to a place where you're consumed by thoughts of food, calories, measurements, purity, all that stuff." "My interest in nutrition turned into me being terrified of eating anything that I didnt deem to be completely pure and okay to enter into my body"

As a consumer of social media, many of the "that girl" videos and content which have caught my eye have aimed to subconciously plant the idea in my mind that "Processed food is evil and I should be ashamed for even thinking about it unless I want acne, to gain significant levels of weight and to feel lethargic."

It's easy to take pictures and film short clips and snippets of a lifestyle, but these creators are only showing what they want us to see. They are not showing the binging once every few weeks as the result of restriction. They are not showing the filter-free versions of their skin. And they most importantly are not showing the way that this lifestyle is truly making them feel. Yes it's a lifestyle that consists of things that are good for you, but that does not mean doing all those things at once is a good idea.

Presenting young people with the idea that perfectionism is achievable is just setting them up to fail and develop a toxic mindset. You do not want to be "that girl" because being her means trying to reach unachievable standards. Being "that girl" means spreading yourself too thin, and lowering your self esteem as the result of not meeting ridiculous expectations of yourself. Being "that girl" is doing things to tick a box and follow someone elses rules rather than doing what you actually enjoy and what makes you happy. So focus less on being that girl, and more on being YOU, because as cringey as it sounds, you are the best version of yourself just the way you are.