More than 114 million have watched videos relating to the latest TikToktrend ‘girl dinner’ and the internet is trying to make sense of it.
The phenomenon had been quietly brewing on the social media app but came into the public consciousness last week with a New York Times article.
Predictably, from there, the trend has now been parodied and spawned numerous memes.
But what is girl dinner and how did the whole thing start?
What is girl dinner?
Essentially, the phenomenon is based around celebrating the low-effort meals a woman might cobble together and enjoy alone, preferably in front of something good on TV.
It has been described as “artful snacking,” by the Boston Globe and will typically see plates compiling Mediterranean favourites, such as peppers and tomatoes, alongside cheese, bread, and/or nuts. It is not the typical meat and two veg.
Olivia Maher has been credited for starting the trend which she called “no preparation, just vibes”.
Ms Maher told the New York Times: “We love eating that way, and it feels like such a girl dinner because we do it when our boyfriends aren’t around and we don’t have to have what’s a ‘typical dinner’ — essentially, with a protein and a veggie and a starch.”
What was the original girl dinner?
Ms Maher posted a video on TikTok in May which stated “this is my dinner” and posted a clip of her butter and cheese, part of a baguette, some grapes and pickles, and a glass of red wine. The 15-second clip has been watched more than one million times.
Devra First wrote in the Boston Globe: “Girl dinner is what Lisa Simpson would eat after she moves to New York in her 20s and gets an intellectually rewarding if underpaid job as a junior literary agent.”
But it’s not being taken too seriously
Like any viral trend, there have been parodies and this one seems to have been pounced upon in record time.
While girl dinner was once shown off with an air of class, Twitter users have weighed in to present a different reality with women showing their favourite foods on their nights alone.
And it has been closer to beans on toast than a Mediterranean concoction.
Here are some of the best reactions.
girl dinner pic.twitter.com/X4Hy2BjEcz
— Ashley 🔞🌸 (@AshleyYelhsa11) July 13, 2023
girl dinner pic.twitter.com/AtnsNPhHP9
— Liz Charboneau (@lizchar) July 12, 2023
girl dinner pic.twitter.com/Ee7055k3oz
— 𝑆𝐼𝐴𝑁 𝑇𝐻𝑌𝑀𝐸𝑆 🥂 (@SianThymes) July 13, 2023
“girl dinner” - me with a huge mouthful of a microwave family lasagne that I’m eating all by myself washed down with 19 Crimes that I’m drinking out of a pint glass
— Sooz Kempner | soozuk.bsky.social (@SoozUK) July 13, 2023
My "girl dinners" look like this and I have zero regrets. None. pic.twitter.com/C18qjNv10r
— Tilly (@ObjectiveCow) July 13, 2023
