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The “Hiiii” Girl vs. the “Bruh” Girl
There’s a trend on TikTok that describes the difference between two different “types” of girls. But many think it encourages internalized misogyny.
The “girly girl vs. tomboy” differentiation has risen again — this time, on TikTok and the Internet, in the form of the “hiiii” girl vs. the “bruh” girl.
The “hiiii” girl, also referred to as the “hey girlie” girl or the “🥺” (shy/pleading face emoji) girl (the names refer to how these girls speak/text), is known to embrace more traditionally feminine traits. They like pink, brunch, dresses, flowers, makeup, and fashion.
By contrast, the “bruh” girl (who is known to use the word “bruh” in texts or conversations), is known to have more traditionally masculine traits and likes, such as sports, video games, weird or edgy humor, athletic clothes and sweats, etc.
When this trend became popular on TikTok in June, it mostly focused around people coming up with characteristics/habits/dislikes of each type and trying to figure out which one they were. However, it quickly became apparent that the bruh girl was considered by many to be more desirable, with many self-described bruh girls stating that they’re more fun, “elite,” and “lowkey superior.” The trend became a way to subtly dig at girls who were traditionally more feminine, wore makeup, etc. Accusations of people trying to become bruh girls to be trendy were also thrown out, as well as attempts to differentiate the “fake” bruh girls from the real ones.
Many think the belief that bruh girls are better is a form of internalized misogyny, “the involuntary belief by girls and women that the lies, stereotypes, and myths about girls and women that are delivered to everyone in a sexist society are true.” This manifests in girls looking down upon other girls who exhibit more traditionally feminine traits while viewing others who exhibit traditionally masculine traits positively.
