Girly girl

Term used to describe females who present as especially feminine

Girly girl is a term for a girl or woman who presents herself in a traditionally feminine way. This may include wearing pink, using make-up, using perfume, dressing in skirts and dresses, and engaging in activities that are traditionally associated with femininity, such as talking about relationships.[1]

The term is often used in a derogatory manner, but it can also be used in a more positive way, especially when considering the fluidity of gender roles.[2] Being a "girly girl" can then be seen as a fluid and partially embodied position – a form of discourse taken up, discarded or modified for tactical or strategic purposes.[3][4]

Social determinants

The female opposite of a girly girl is a tomboy. The male counterpart of a girly girl is a "man's man".[citation needed] The increasing prevalence of girly girls in the early 21st century has been linked to a supposed "post-feminist, post–new man construction of masculinity and femininity in mutually exclusive terms",[5] as opposed to the more blurred gender representations of previous decades.[6]

See also

Look up girly girl in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  • Lipstick feminism
  • Lipstick lesbian
  • Butch and femme
  • Effeminacy
  • Marianismo
  • Masculinity

References

  1. ^ Linda Duits, Multi-Girl-Culture (2008) p. 141
  2. ^ Duits, p. 136
  3. ^ M. O'Sullivan/A. MacPhail, Young People's Voices (2010) p. 37-8
  4. ^ Nicholls, Emily (2018-07-24). Negotiating Femininities in the Neoliberal Night-Time Economy: Too Much of a Girl?. Springer. p. 259. ISBN 978-3-319-93308-5.
  5. ^ Natasha Walter, Living Dolls:The Return of Sexism (2010) p. 211
  6. ^ Adam Phillips, On Flirtation (1994) p. 122-4
  • v
  • t
  • e
Stock characters
By ethics and morality
Heroes
Classic hero
Antihero
Other
Rogues
Lovable rogue
Tricky slave
Outlaw
Other
Villains
Antivillains
The mole
Social Darwinist
Monsters
Other
By sex and gender
Feminine
Love interest
Hag
Hawksian woman
Woman warrior
Queen bee
LGBT
Lady-in-waiting
Geek girl
Damsel in distress
Masculine
Harlequin
Father figure
Young
Prince Charming
Primitive
LGBT
Bad boy
Others