Embedded Files
Words are powerful, and how we use them can have both negative and positive connotations. Often times racial slurs have negative effects, and nicknames that friends give each other often build the relationship. In this case we are looking at what term "egirl" is and what it means to be an egirl. Lauren Strapagiel in her article "TikTok Has Created A Whole New Kind Of Cool Girl" states that the egirl title is a very visible demographic on the TikTok app. The look is what defines an egirl, such as purposely overdone makeup with small shapes such as a heart under the eyes, half pig-tail hairstyle, and more often than not...A-line skirts. Just like the skirts girls in Anime's wear. Strapagiel gives us good points on his definition of an "egirl", comparing scene girls from the 2000's and how they both have a "reactionary factor". (egirl on the left, scene girl on the right)
Words are powerful, and how we use them can have both negative and positive connotations. Often times racial slurs have negative effects, and nicknames that friends give each other often build the relationship. In this case we are looking at what term "egirl" is and what it means to be an egirl. Lauren Strapagiel in her article "TikTok Has Created A Whole New Kind Of Cool Girl" states that the egirl title is a very visible demographic on the TikTok app. The look is what defines an egirl, such as purposely overdone makeup with small shapes such as a heart under the eyes, half pig-tail hairstyle, and more often than not...A-line skirts. Just like the skirts girls in Anime's wear. Strapagiel gives us good points on his definition of an "egirl", comparing scene girls from the 2000's and how they both have a "reactionary factor". (egirl on the left, scene girl on the right)
So what is an 'egirl'? The term wasn't started on the TikTok app, it has been traced back to 2013 on Urban Dictionary and it defined them as "Internet Sluts". Girls who are attracted to gamer boys and try to attract them with good looks and flirtation. Strapagiel says that the term egirl "is just another word thrown at girls to diminish their interest in gaming." But just as how the meanings of words change over a period of time, the meaning of egirl changed too. Unlike the definition of egirl in 2013, today TikTok egirls aren't afraid of the word and often wear it with pride. One TikTok egirl, Marley who on TikTok, who goes by thiccbeefcake69 said that she gets called an egirl daily and "its no big deal to me, because it’s kind of like a title”. Being an egirl comes with both the good and the bad, Marley got discouraged after posting a few videos because they weren't getting popular and she suffered with eating disorders, anxiety and depression. People always called her names and she ended up deleting the app. Then she found out that one of her Tik Tok videos blew up and had 20,000+ likes. She then re-downloaded the app and had 10,000 followers in a couple of days. But being that popular attracts a lot of unwanted attention, she gets contacted by older men with inappropriate sexual requests, and some even offer money for photos. It's not just Marley that gets these kinds of requests, another TikTok egirl who goes by the name "ash.jpg" also gets requests from older men for pictures. Her Instagram and Snapchat is tied with her TikTok account so she gets pictures from other people without even wanting it. To get an idea of how popular she is, in just two months she's already gained 38,000 fans. Although there are a lot of people who are on TikTok and are fans of these creators, there are a lot of people who are just a little bit older than the "Gen. Zers" who have never even heard of egirls. This tweet shows it all.
So what is an 'egirl'? The term wasn't started on the TikTok app, it has been traced back to 2013 on Urban Dictionary and it defined them as "Internet Sluts". Girls who are attracted to gamer boys and try to attract them with good looks and flirtation. Strapagiel says that the term egirl "is just another word thrown at girls to diminish their interest in gaming." But just as how the meanings of words change over a period of time, the meaning of egirl changed too. Unlike the definition of egirl in 2013, today TikTok egirls aren't afraid of the word and often wear it with pride. One TikTok egirl, Marley who on TikTok, who goes by thiccbeefcake69 said that she gets called an egirl daily and "its no big deal to me, because it’s kind of like a title”. Being an egirl comes with both the good and the bad, Marley got discouraged after posting a few videos because they weren't getting popular and she suffered with eating disorders, anxiety and depression. People always called her names and she ended up deleting the app. Then she found out that one of her Tik Tok videos blew up and had 20,000+ likes. She then re-downloaded the app and had 10,000 followers in a couple of days. But being that popular attracts a lot of unwanted attention, she gets contacted by older men with inappropriate sexual requests, and some even offer money for photos. It's not just Marley that gets these kinds of requests, another TikTok egirl who goes by the name "ash.jpg" also gets requests from older men for pictures. Her Instagram and Snapchat is tied with her TikTok account so she gets pictures from other people without even wanting it. To get an idea of how popular she is, in just two months she's already gained 38,000 fans. Although there are a lot of people who are on TikTok and are fans of these creators, there are a lot of people who are just a little bit older than the "Gen. Zers" who have never even heard of egirls. This tweet shows it all.
TikTok users love egirls, but the app itself doesn't always love them. Some egirls have had videos taken down because they didn't walk the thin like of what TikTok considers to be "Family Friendly". Ashley Eldridge (ash.jpg) said that she herself had videos taken down because she had wore a skirt that went up too much and showed her underwear. “If you’re wearing something too revealing, it will be taken down or it won’t get on the For You page.” Even though women are entirely free to express them-selfs for who they are, it is a good thing that TikTok has these rules. For some girls who are underage, it can come across as inappropriate and todays women should learn how to feel empowered and strong while doing it in a professional classy way. (Strapagiel, Eldrige Par. 43) Ashley tells us that when she started on TikTok, she was mostly messing around with her friends about her dressing up as an anime girl and getting popular. "I was joking with my friends, saying, oh, if I dress up as an anime girl, I’ll get famous — and then I did,” (Strapagiel, Eldrige Par. 34)
TikTok users love egirls, but the app itself doesn't always love them. Some egirls have had videos taken down because they didn't walk the thin like of what TikTok considers to be "Family Friendly". Ashley Eldridge (ash.jpg) said that she herself had videos taken down because she had wore a skirt that went up too much and showed her underwear. “If you’re wearing something too revealing, it will be taken down or it won’t get on the For You page.” Even though women are entirely free to express them-selfs for who they are, it is a good thing that TikTok has these rules. For some girls who are underage, it can come across as inappropriate and todays women should learn how to feel empowered and strong while doing it in a professional classy way. (Strapagiel, Eldrige Par. 43) Ashley tells us that when she started on TikTok, she was mostly messing around with her friends about her dressing up as an anime girl and getting popular. "I was joking with my friends, saying, oh, if I dress up as an anime girl, I’ll get famous — and then I did,” (Strapagiel, Eldrige Par. 34)
thiccbeefcake69
ash.jpg
Here's one example of Ashley's TikTok videos
Here's one example of Ashley's TikTok videos
Strapagiel gives us another example of an egirl, Deven who lives in Maryland and goes by the name Buffi. Deven has gone through the same things as asg.jpg and thiccbeefcake69, receiving inappropriate messages from older guys requesting pictures. But Deven says that the app has changed her life, she has even met her boyfriend and some of her best friends on the app. Deven said that all she really wanted was for people to comedy and content, and now that she's on the app, she feels that she's in the spotlight "Now I have a following of people who think I’m funny, It’s helped me get through thinking I’m not worth anything.” (Strapagiel, Deven par. 51)
Strapagiel gives us another example of an egirl, Deven who lives in Maryland and goes by the name Buffi. Deven has gone through the same things as asg.jpg and thiccbeefcake69, receiving inappropriate messages from older guys requesting pictures. But Deven says that the app has changed her life, she has even met her boyfriend and some of her best friends on the app. Deven said that all she really wanted was for people to comedy and content, and now that she's on the app, she feels that she's in the spotlight "Now I have a following of people who think I’m funny, It’s helped me get through thinking I’m not worth anything.” (Strapagiel, Deven par. 51)
Just as how words and names change over time, the term "egirl" has changed too. It no longer means being an "Internet Slut". Now the term seems to be on TikTok to describe how girls dress up as anime look-a-likes and make a bunch of short funny and Ironic videos. If your popular on the app as an egirl, it could come with a lot of un-wanted attention, but with anything that comes with some negatives it comes with positives. The three egirls that Strapagiel talked to have all said that the app has changed there life in one way or another and it mostly gave them self-esteem. "teen girls have always found ways to find themselves. The egirl is just the latest addition." (Strapagiel, par. 53)
Just as how words and names change over time, the term "egirl" has changed too. It no longer means being an "Internet Slut". Now the term seems to be on TikTok to describe how girls dress up as anime look-a-likes and make a bunch of short funny and Ironic videos. If your popular on the app as an egirl, it could come with a lot of un-wanted attention, but with anything that comes with some negatives it comes with positives. The three egirls that Strapagiel talked to have all said that the app has changed there life in one way or another and it mostly gave them self-esteem. "teen girls have always found ways to find themselves. The egirl is just the latest addition." (Strapagiel, par. 53)
Works Cited
Strapagiel, Lauren. “TikTok Has Created A Whole New Kind Of Cool Girl.” BuzzFeed News, BuzzFeed News, 25 Feb. 2019, www.buzzfeednews.com/article/laurenstrapagiel/tiktok-egirls?ref=bfnsplash&utm_term=4ldqpho.
Google Sites
Report abuse