With over 7.6 billion views on TikTok, the Pick Me Girl trend has officially surfaced on everyone’s social media feeds—but why? And what exactly is a Pick Me Girl?
We’ve all seen those corny movies, where either a high school cheerleader or one of the popular girls was the one to always seek male attention. Whether it was in a lineup of other women waiting to be chosen for a team in gym class or a popular high school jock looking for a next casual girlfriend, the Pick Me Girl is all about women who ask, or seek to be chosen, especially when it comes to the validation of other men around her. Think Vandergeld sisters from White Chicks, Pick Me Girls are the ones that are always wanting to stay at the center of attention. However, when they don’t receive any or the slightest bit of validation, rest assured that they’re having a full-on b*tch fit.
What Is A Pick Me Girl?
@mcloughlingirls/TikTok
In essence, Pick Me Girls are ultimately the ones who are overly quirky, dramatic, and constantly wanting to be chosen by others. Essentially, the Pick Me Girl is seen as extra girly and a downright mean girl.
The trend surfaced on TikTok with over 7.6 billion views and was meant to be a critique of women who act like Pick Me Girls. However, it now pretty much applies to everyone; especially girls who do anything and everything for the male gaze or have a name that starts with the letter M. Ultimately, Pick Me Girls are your typical teenage princesses and the ones to essentially do more to be seen. Think of a movie scene where a mean girl fakes an injury and blames it on the next girl in order for their crush or boyfriend to feel sorry for them. Yes, there are girls in real life that act this way.
And though the pick me girl is definitely a cringy aesthetic to think about, there’s another aesthetic that was made to counteract it. However, it still uses similar tactics to receive attention from others.
What Are Anti-Pick Me Girls?
@kqtiewhitney/Tiktok
The Pick Me Girl trend has caused a lot of TikTok creators to counteract the Pick Me aesthetic by creating the Anti-Pick Me’s—a movement of women claiming to be the opposite of Pick Me Girls, yet still tend to put other women down.
All in all, an Anti-Pick Me Girl is not necessarily identified by the way she dresses, but rather the way she acts. Claiming to not be like other women, Anti-Pick-Me Girls claim to be the ones that actually receive male attention by not having to do too much, however, are actually going against their own approach by having to explain that they, “don’t do too much.” Moreover, a Pick Me Girl and an Anti-Pick Me Girl have the same motive—to receive and in turn, seek the validation of others.
Where Did The Pick-Me-Girl Trend Come From?
@jamilahlemieux/Twitter
The trend’s origins go back to 2010 when the hashtag #TweetLikeAPickMe surfaced on Black Twitter. The trend in 2010 referred to unbecoming behaviors of women that make them bad spouses, however, the term is now referenced to the “Karens” out there and has trended more so within the white community.
It’s no surprise that the Pick Me Girl trend has resurfaced on the internet as it recalls a troubling time in school for many girls who were either viewed as outcasts or up-staged by the Pick Me’s, aka the mean girls. In context, the trend is not new and pays homage to Black Twitter ideating concepts, ideas, and most notably, the trends that tend to be taken and praised by the white community.