By Arielle Nguyen
TikTok has always been a rabbit hole of content of varying value, and I fell deep. So much so that I recently came across a video about Notting Hill, a 1999 romantic-comedy film starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, and — to be frank — I did not think I would end up here.
Hey, guess what! I’m just a girl. Do you recognize that line?
Notting Hill featured a scene with Roberts’ character, Anna Scott, saying, “And don’t forget. I’m also just a girl … standing in front of a boy asking for him to love her.”
And this was what my TikTok spiral fell to. The video I saw was the original quoting a clip from Notting Hill (I know — super rare!), posted by Leanne Abdallah (@leanneabdallah).
I know. Dreadful, and I’m gripping my phone, begging for more. But hey, that’s a rom-com for you.
The sound has garnered over 100,000 posts, most of which contain women making lighthearted jokes that seemingly go against the feminist movement. For example, I watched a video by Lanie Gillen (@hotpinkaholic) with the caption, “[When] my parents get mad at me [because I] can’t save money.”
And her response? The audio: “Don’t forget. I’m also just a girl.”
It’s a funny video. I laughed, and I continued making my way down the rabbit hole… which was a terrible idea. See, the next thing I normally do is look at the comments, which is a whole other thing, but here, I was met with negative statement after negative statement. It’s just too easy for anything girls and women like to be ridiculed. “Oh, do you like to paint? That’s so girly of you!” Oh, my goodness, can I like anything without being judged because of my gender?
Sprinkled throughout the 100,000 posts were videos of people dismissing or taking the jokes too seriously. Can women joke online without someone taking it seriously? This isn’t the death of feminism! Coming across these posts was a bit upsetting, but it also got me thinking. Maybe, to some extent, these people had a point.
A video by Iyanna (@jhaileniyanna) under the sound had the caption, “[When] my boyfriend says all I do is sit at home and do nothing all day…”
Though many content creators lie for views, we still need to note where our “I’m just a girl” trend turns into “I’m just a girl, so don’t expect anything from me.”
I love that women now have a somewhat “official” version of the “boys will be boys” phrase, though I don’t want to compare the two. “Boys will be boys” entails serious, traditional masculine values whereas girls lightheartedly speak about hitting curbs and spending too much money. It’s not something to make a big deal out of!
But don’t forget. I’m also just a girl.
