The etymology of a girly girl

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Aahana Sophia Jabulee 13 January, 2023 01:39 pm IST
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The etymology of a girly girl

A girly girl has been defined by Wikipedia as, “a term for a girl or woman who presents herself in a traditionally feminine way”. The underlying question is, why are there continually negative connotations regarding girly girls?

Often the word girly girl is associated with the colour pink, slumber parties, and overtly traditional feminine clothing. Furthermore, there is a common misconception that women who have an affiliation with these elements are shallow, ignorant, and purely concerned with their vanity. This connection brings shame and embarrassment to girls or women who have a preference for these feminine factors.

Colours like pink or blue aren’t masculine or feminine or common or anything. They’re just colours and yet for some reason they have ended up being continually federated with different genders. Factually speaking, this sex-specification of pink and blue only began to post the 1940s. Preceding this, pink is claimed to, by the colour expert and executive Pantene director, Leatrice Eiseman, have been a masculine colour for little boys. This can be seen in old catalogues and other books before the twentieth century. This nonsense barrier has been created by years of gender division in manufacturing to produce profits.

As a toddler, I remember pressuring myself to change my favourite colour from the “girly” pink to blue, which had more “depth” and “character” (which is purely illogical). Although it's perfectly normal to like pink, there was an idea of feminism portrayed in liking the colour blue. Liking blue meant blue wasn’t only for boys- which is true, but in hindsight, I failed to see that pink wasn’t a bad colour because a majority of females liked it, this in fact went against the whole concept of feminism.

The idea of neglecting pink comes from the idea of neglecting sexist stereotypes. Nevertheless, fitting into these stereotypes doesn’t make you any less worthy or feminist. Another example can be housewives, the issue doesn’t lie in wanting to be a housewife but rather in being expected to be a housewife due to the assumption that women lack no other skill than caretaking. Yet, if your true ambition is to be a housekeeper, pursuing it does not make you any less notable as a man, woman, or other.

Next, I’d like to take into perspective why the ‘girly girl’ cliche has a vision for women who seem to be “girly girls” not being allowed to be both knowledgeable and concerned about glamour? The expectation remains that someone who is conventionally attractive will not be able to fulfill the same high regard academically. The whole trope frequently undermines and underestimates their capabilities. Your intelligence quotient is not by any means connected to your fondness for yourself or a certain shade.

Concluding, being a ‘girly girl’ or ‘masculine man’, makes no difference in terms of character, it merely describes personal preferences that deserve to be respected as much as any other.

About the Author: Aahana Sophia Jabulee is a Grade 9A student at The International School Bangalore. She is a state and national Taekwondo champion and is also active in performing arts

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