Don’t get me wrong, if you are super into only eating the healthiest of foods, getting up at the crack of dawn, donning the cutest workout set, heading to the gym, having an aesthetically pleasing home, and being a generally very productive human being, then that is great!
More power to you - you’ve found what makes you happy, you’re killing it in your own way, and I’m proud!
However, the issue with the “That Girl” culture is that it promotes the idea that there’s only one definition of living a successful or “well” life: you should look a certain way, you should only eat certain things, you should move your body a certain way, you should have a certain type of home, you should feel a certain way, and you should constantly live in this way without any balance.
The entire concept of “That Girl” is completely limiting, out of reach, and more often than not, completely false. It’s also incredibly concerning because it suggests that if you’re not living like this, you’re not doing life right!
I’ve actually seen social media posts with tips on becoming “That Girl” on a budget, how to take photos like “That Girl”, and how to workout like “That Girl”.
Is this conducive to a society that embraces everyone, doesn’t make people feel as if they need to aspire to be something they truly don’t want to be, or accepts different markers of success and wellness? No. It’s not.
Women of all ages (but especially younger women) are constantly being promoted to live a certain type of lifestyle in the name of “wellness” via social media and it’s detrimental.
It goes further than the guilt we feel when we see one of these Reels - we’re setting expectations for ourselves that are not real and then when we don’t live up to them, we feel disappointed, we compare ourselves, and we struggle with confidence and self-esteem.
