The Rise of "Girl" Words

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The term “girl” has a fraught history in English. Ostensibly, it refers to a female child, but has often been applied to women regardless of their age, as in “the girls on the sales floor.” When compared to “the boys in the accounting department,” it’s clear that the first phrase carries subtly patronizing overtones that the other one does not.

A Brief History of Girl Terms

When used as a modifier, “girl” is often used to denote some deviation from the norm, as in “girl band” to refer to musicians who aren’t male. (Surprisingly, this term has been around for a while; the Oxford English Dictionary records it being used as early as 1906.) “Girly girl,” which means highly feminine, but which also connotes being vacuous or silly, is even older; it’s been kicking around in the language since 1880.

Not surprisingly, some of these terms have sexual connotations. When Lana Turner appeared in tight-fitting clothing in the 1937 film They Won’t Forget, her admirers coined the term “sweater girl” to refer to a woman whose attire accentuates her figure. And in 1985, Madonna popularized the term “material girl” to refer to women who appreciate expensive gifts from their suitors—possibly in exchange for their affections.

Positive Girl Terms

We also have more recent coinages like “girlboss,” popularized by Sophia Amoruso in 2014, to refer to successful entrepreneurs. It stands in stark contrast to “girl Friday,” a term associated with the 1940 film starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. Whereas a girl Friday is clearly an assistant, a girlboss is, without a doubt, the one in charge.

Cultural changes are reflected in coinages like “girl power,” which the OED documents as being in use since 1913, although it only became popular during the 1960s. And the early 1990s saw the rise of “grrrl,” derived from the earlier “riot girl.” Both terms are associated with a more assertive form of feminism.

Several terms that have gained currency over the past few years reflect continued ambivalence about what it means to be a woman in the 21st century. On the one hand, we have “hot girl summer,” the title of a song released by Megan Thee Stallion in 2019, that celebrates female empowerment, self-confidence, and enjoyment. But on the other hand, there are a number of recently coined expressions that are either condescending or outright sexist.

Bad at Math, Bad at Work?

Consider “girl math.” Although it hasn’t yet been enshrined in the OED, it’s often defined as using questionable accounting to justify expensive or unneeded purchases. Rationalizing the acquisition of something costly by using a coupon that makes it only slightly less pricey would be an example of this way of thinking. Or “If it’s under $5, then it’s basically free.” Men seem just as likely to fall prey to such reasoning as women, but the term “boy math” appears far less often online.

Another recent coinage is “lazy girl job.” Associated with the post-pandemic phenomenon of quiet quitting, a lazy girl job provides an adequate income without much effort. And the most recent term of this type seems to be “girl dinner,” consisting of snack foods being consumed in lieu of a full meal.

Although these newer terms haven’t entered widespread use, they receive outsized attention from journalists. The Washington Post devoted an article to dissecting the “lazy girl job” in July 2023, and ran a story about “girl dinner” a few weeks later. The New York Times followed suit with an article published in February, when the neologism was inducted into Dictionary.com. The online definition for girl dinner is very specific and somewhat judgmental, including the observation that it is “typically the fare of young single women with little time or inclination to cook.”

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The Social Media Incubator

According to several sources, “girl math” arose from the name of a segment airing on a New Zealand radio station. But many such terms have become popular by going viral on social media.

“Lazy girl job,” for example, was coined by Gabrielle Judge on TikTok, and the hashtag #lazygirljob has garnered millions of views on that site. #GirlDinner has been popular on X (Twitter), where one can find hundreds of photos of evening meals. (A recent and memorable example consists of a box of Häagen-Dazs ice cream bars and a bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos. Whether such a menu was intended seriously is an open question.)

Predictably, there has been much handwringing about how these terms reflect on the millennial and Gen Z women who employ them. Should members of these generations be viewed as less serious about their economic well-being, careers, or their nutrition? The truth, of course, is that every generation has its fair share of spendthrifts, clock-watchers, and unhealthy eaters. Social media simply makes it easier to coin and discuss such terms. But don’t take it from me—just ask any girlboss.