It's A Girl's Girl Summer & Everyone’s Invited

For girl’s girls, it is a truth universally acknowledged that the best part of going out is getting ready. While you debate outfit choices (i.e., trade “nice tops”) and sip on Aperol spritzes, Spotify playlists with names like “disco margaritas” and “pov: ur the hot ex” play loudly in the background. You overhear compliments like “I’m obsessed with your eyeliner” and warnings like “No, do *not* text him back” as your curling iron heats up. The energy is palpable, and the aura is pink. It’s an inimitable combination that draws you in — there’s a reason Alix Earle’s GRWMs have launched the TikToker to internet stardom — and this summer has felt like one long, glitter-infused getting-ready sesh, made specifically for the girls.

A girl’s girl is the kind of person you want to be — and the kind of person you want to be around. She’s the antithesis of the dreaded “pick me girl,” whose goal of being “picked” often comes at the expense of other women. A girl’s girl lets you know when there’s something stuck in your teeth. She tells you the right shoes to wear with your outfit (and if you’re the same size, she’ll let you borrow her pair). She always has a tampon in her bag, just in case someone needs it. She sends you podcast episodes you need to hear. She runs alongside you on the beach, filming while you try out the “August” TikTok trend; she gushes over videos of Blue Ivy and Beyoncé dancing; and she organizes the group pilgrimage to the Barbie movie.

This summer, the girl’s girls are really getting to shine. No Doubt’s ‘90s hit “Just A Girl” is a trending TikTok sound — as is the viral quote “How I love being a woman!” from Anne With An E. Across the internet (and in real life, too), women are loudly celebrating their femininity in all its sparkly glory.

The groundwork was laid in early March, when Scandoval prompted an outpouring of support for Ariana Madix. Women on the internet lifted her to star status almost instantly, earning her a Glamour cover story, Call Her Daddy interview, and thousands of dollars worth of “F*ck Me in This T-shirt” merch. (Talk about winning a breakup.) And that was only the beginning of the girl’s girl summer. Enter: the Eras Tour, the Renaissance Tour, and Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.

On March 17, Taylor Swift began her Ticketmaster-breaking, earthquake-causing Eras Tour. Each show kicks off with a countdown to Swift’s entrance, featuring girl’s girl anthem “You Don’t Own Me,” a song with lyrics like, “I'm young and I love to be young / I'm free and I love to be free / To live my life the way I want / To say and do whatever I please.” Even before Swift enters the stage, a singalong begins, one that reaches its crescendo during her performance of “The Man” three songs in.

The concert is a girly dream — and Swifties have embraced that energy full force. Since the tour started, it has spurred on thousands of album-inspired outfits and millions of beaded friendship bracelets, spelling out song titles like “Mad Woman” and “You’re On Your Own Kid.” The girl’s girl vibe has even led to some sweet interactions with celebrities. One TikToker captured when she started holding hands with an A-lister mid-concert: “That moment when someone grabs your hand during [“All Too Well”] and sings w you and you realize it’s THE Millie Bobby Brown.” Not to mention, when the sea of 70,000-plus fans leave the stadium, they’re often still singing Swift’s hits.

In May, Beyoncé kicked off her Renaissance Tour, inviting even more girl’s girls to join in on the fun. Metallic sets and sequined boots aren’t required, but they are everywhere. Bey’s show is all about embracing divine feminine energy, from her unbeatable set list (with songs like “I’m That Girl” and “Run The World (Girls)”) to her dancing with her 11-year-old daughter Blue Ivy.

Both tours — and their leading ladies — have elicited the same response from fans: “Mother is mothering.” But concerts aren’t the only place where the girl’s girl energy is thriving. The Barbie movie has been a siren call to women everywhere. Spoiler alert: In the film, women uplift each other to save the world — well, Barbieland. It’s not just breaking box office records; the immaculate Barbie energy has taken over the real world, too. People are dressing up for the movie theater (and, you know, actually going to the movie theater) in order to fully embrace the cultural moment.

TikTok has kept the film’s message top of mind. One quote from the movie — “Take my hand, close your eyes, now feel” — has sparked a viral trend of women sharing their own experiences of girlhood. One TikTok explains this summer’s overall energy, “It sounds silly but Barbie and Taylor have given me so much joy. Playing real life Barbie. Exchanging friendship bracelets at the Eras Tour. Dancing around my room. Singing loud enough for my neighbors to hear. Loving the girl I was and the woman I’ve become.”

Another TikToker recalled, “one of my favorite moments that showed how amazing it is to be a woman is that one time i was at a concert in nyc, and i started my period. i had no clue it was coming.” She searched throughout the venue high and low for a tampon before eventually knocking on a staff-only door to ask. “it was the singer i was there to see. she invited me into her dressing room and opened up her suitcase and handed me an entire handful of tampons.” It’s not just these individual moments reaching virality — it’s that women collectively know this experience and have their own similar stories of girl’s girl camaraderie.

But it doesn’t end there. This summer, Taylor Swift brought back her famous Fourth of July party, a girls-only celebration of independence. Long-time BFFs Selena Gomez and Francia Raisa cleared up feud rumors. TikTok’s Dylan Mulvaney celebrated her 500th day of being a girl. “Girl dinner” — a meal that’s really just an amalgamation of random snacks — is trending on TikTok.

On the less pink side of things, there are plenty of headlines about men (like Keke Palmer’s BF Darius Jackson) humiliating their girlfriends with their bad behavior. And, of course, there’s the controversy surrounding Ariana Grande’s rumored affair — the ultimate reminder that if you’re “not a girl’s girl” (as Ethan Slater’s wife Lilly Jay put it), you’re lagging behind. Then again, would these stories have gotten the same attention had the feminine energy not already been in full effect? The girls are winning the moment, and they won’t be held back.

Being a girl’s girl is a sequin-filled, girly party that everyone’s invited to — even Kens, as long as they don’t turn the Dream House into a Mojo Dojo Casa House. This summer, take a cue from Barbie herself: Every night is girls' night.