Arriving on the scene this past spring was “Girl Dinner”, a viral trend that’s been uniting women across the internet. A meal composed of bits and pieces, scraps, and random tidbits from the pantry is now a universal experience for girls growing up today. But is this mishmash of food a freeing release or is it simply another means of restricting the way women view nutrition and their bodies along with it?
Personally, I can see it both ways. Growing up and watching the women in my life try diet after diet without ever being satisfied burned into my subconscious the message that feminine beauty revolves around how little we can eat to survive. Pushing the trend of a girl dinner could be just another method society is using to warp young minds into believing that tiny morsels constitute for a healthy dinner.
On the flip side, I view reclaiming girl dinner as a retaliation against the social construct that women “belong in the kitchen.” It is becoming increasingly more common for a female to be independent in the world which gives her more authority over her own being and with that, her eating habits. Cleaning out the fridge after a long day at work is now celebrated instead of being seen as being too lazy to whip up a four-course dining experience.
I wish it were possible to think of girl dinner as solely a beneficial, lighthearted, and connecting social movement. Unfortunately, when the world has already spent decades imposing its expectations of what makes us beautiful, it is difficult to put aside the harmful patterns we’re conditioned to expect.
Creative Direction, Photography and Words by Heather Bloomfield.
Styling by Alix Russell-Mann.
Makeup & Hair by Sophia Pates and Tinley Peters.
Production Design by Iyla Feist.
Video by Emily Grey.
Photo Assist by Urja Atre.
Talent by Altria Ayinde, Violetta Somov, Calamity Fable, Mitali Generiwal.