Come To Girl Dinner, Everyone’s Invited
Scurrying off to the kitchen in the middle of the night to grab a fistful of grated cheese and blindly stab a fork into a container of leftovers is not something to be ashamed of – we call that Girl Dinner.
Girl Dinner was born on TikTok from the collective realisation that we’re all just doing our best, and eating whatever the hell we can get our hands on is fun.
What Is Girl Dinner?
The trend began with a humble snack plate; a little cheese, some crackers, a couple of pickles, hell – some cut up apples. Picture perfect. And then people started feeling more comfortable on the internet under the guise of Girl Dinner, and suddenly my feed was filled with the most heinous combinations of foods. Peanut butter on a spoon and a can of energy drink anyone?
But there are no rules, no expectations and no need to confine ourselves to the shackles of a meal eaten properly at the dining room table. No more. Girl Dinner is a rebellion, and it’s come at a perfect time.
We have been positively begging for a new wave when it comes to online food content. Our most recent entanglement with the food folks of the internet was the resurgence of the dinner party. And as beautiful as tapered candles, floral arrangements, hand-embroidered tablecloths and freshly baked pies may be, it’s not realistic for your everyday gal (me) who sometimes just struggles to get out of bed.
Girl Dinner Is Not New
So Girl Dinner in its most basic form, is a very clever rebranding of what we were all calling ‘depression meals’, not even a few months ago. If someone saw you microwave a plain tortilla, they’d shake your medication bottle and make sure you haven’t skipped a day. I know you wouldn’t usually tell anyone about the mini mug of whipped cream with sprinkles on top and a can of Pepsi Max, but I urge you to share your truth.
It’s important to note that Girl Dinner doesn’t discriminate. Girl Dinner is for anyone in the state of mind to receive the energy that it exudes. Get in bitches, we’re putting things on a plate (plate is optional). The menu is just whatever looks yummy, makes us feel happy or gives us what we need at that moment. So if you need to chew on a Polly Pocket shoe or a a piece of ice, you do just that.
Sorry, Almond Mums
Through bravery and honesty, Girl Dinner has been allowed to do what she needs to do: become the heroic antidote to the poison of Tumblr that was force-fed to our generation when we were just a bunch of kids. And then YouTube delivered unhinged What I Eat In A Day vlogs to us on a silver platter. And while we were still in recovery mode, the Almond Mums took over Instagram. So for a while there, it felt like we were surrounded. But Girl Dinner? It feels like we’re healing.
Girl Dinner allows us to feel like we’re not failing at life if we don’t get meat and three veg on the dinner table, and we are not going to be embarrassed if all we can muster is a handful of grapes and a bag of chippies. We are not disappointing Healthy Harold — he will understand. We’ve all been through a lot.
The Female Gaze
I am of the belief that Girl Dinner is a part of the same cinematic universe as the Hot Girl Side Table. Sure, I am surrounded by week-old water bottles and stacks of half-dried makeup wipes but I’m the main character. And this movie was written by a woman. My room is a disaster but I am living inside the female gaze – it doesn’t get better than this.
Main Character Energy
We’re not waiting around for people to write our characters for us. We aren’t all cherry-red lips and sunkissed skin, all the time. Sometimes we are just plucking rogue chin hairs out on the couch. Sometimes we are covered in chippy crumbs and cat hair, quietly watching our food delivery driver turn down our street.
So we are stepping into an era of unapologetic feminine energy. We are rejecting the expectation of the homemaker generation and finally being a little bit kinder to ourselves. Come on girls, let’s make ourselves a silly little plate of whatever we want for Girl Dinner.
Written by Talecia Vescio, your local Aquarius Junkee Producer & Presenter. Find her on Instagram as @taleciavescio if you want to be friends.