The “Rat Girl” Aesthetic?
Introduction
Can you believe the summer is almost over? Since my school year started on the overhasty date of August 10th, it's felt over for quite a while. So, I've been looking back at what happened in the last few months and discovered a "new" trend. Remember the "That Girl" aesthetic that reigned queen supreme just one year ago? The same idea still stands, but it's taken a much more chaotic turn. This summer, we embraced "Rodent Energy."
Ground Rules
There are 4 rules in “Rat Girl Summer” (RGS). First, spend as much time as possible outside. Second, eat anything (and everything). Third, never be embarrassed to be yourself. Fourth, don’t overthink; just do it! This trend is everything “Hot Girl Summer” is not. RGS creator Lola Kolade gained over 394 million views on Tiktok denouncing previous “female-empowerment” trends for causing harm to women’s mental health with much the same conclusion as seen in my “That Girl” Aesthetic blog post. The goal she hopes to achieve through these ground rules is simple: break free from social media pressure and replace it with more in-the-moment experiences. Many young women on the same app reported feeling emboldened by this new trend, inspired to party, snack, and scurry to new adventures without apology.
Rat Traps
See what I did with the title? Like any trend, this rodent lifestyle has its cons. If you were to dig deeper into the rules of RGS, you would find that there is actually an exception to spending time outside: each "rat girl" should spend two days a week "decaying." As a break from the daily chaotic activities a participant would partake in, Kolade orders that one takes 48 hours to simply scroll through social media. As someone who's often experienced burnout due to the lack of breaks in other trends, I love the idea. However, I must point out that this subrule is hypocritical to the RSG goal (to not be influenced by social media) and harmful to one's mental and physical health to lie in bed for such a long period. This rule could also be attributed to the recent rise of the "Lazy Girl" trend, the rebellious response to the "That Girl" trend. To be a "Lazy Girl" is primarily attributed to the modern workspace, where one brags about relaxing on the job while still getting their work done. Even though both of these Summer 2023 trends are "retaliations" to the over-productive nature of the "That Girl" trend, I hypothesize that RGS was created as a mixture of the two.
Conclusion
As a bizarre blend of “Hot Girl Summer” female empowerment and “Lazy Girl” messiness, “Rat Girl Summer” is definitely something. Although I did not participate in it, I can see the appeal. It’s utterly dumb fun and not meant to be taken seriously (Kolade’s opinion, as well as mine). Many reports from young women who did participate stated that they will still keep up with beauty maintenance but feel okay with setting it aside sometimes, too. In my opinion, this is the best outlook to have when participating in any trend because RGS could have the same negative effect on your mental health as being “That Girl:” feeling pressure to fit a particular image.