Are you a clean girl? What about a green juice girl? Or maybe a messy girl? A downtown girl? 

Are you coquette? A dark academic? Preppy? Basic? How much money do you spend getting rid of all of those flaws? 

Probably not enough to satisfy what I like to call “the micro-aesthetic epidemic.” Largely observable on TikTok, but with clear origins on other social media websites like Tumblr, the amount of hyper-specific archetypes constantly being pushed onto women is exhausting. 

While labeling as a concept isn’t always a bad thing, these micro-labels that people come up with are only fit to serve capitalism and over-consumption, as well as worsening the mental health of young girls and women everywhere. I have seen many harmful examples of micro-labeling, and have myself been drained by the number of categories the online world wants me to confine myself to as a woman. I believe that people and styles are more complex than they are given credit for and portrayed online, and that despite the amount of different ways to identify yourself, we’re only getting more boxed in.

The sheer quantity of labels that exist, and the amount that are being created every day, are simply avenues for new insecurities. What do you do if you’re not fox, deer, or bunny pretty? What do you do if you don’t have doe eyes or siren eyes? What do you do if you don’t fit any of the popular aesthetics of the week? 

As it turns out, many of these aesthetics are promoted to be specifically exclusionary. Take, for example, the “clean girl” style that I previously mentioned. The idea of the “clean girl” aesthetic is very much like what it sounds like; minimal makeup, extensive skincare, slicked back hair, and an overall hygienic look. This style confused me when I first saw it popping up on my feed. I didn’t understand how something like cleanliness was being made into an aesthetic; it felt redundant. 

After trying to ignore it and not being able to, I looked further into it and realized that the most popular videos promoting the trend were of white, thin, and financially well-off women. Women of colour, fat women, or women who didn’t have access to the same top-of-the-line skincare products were not being praised in the same way the previous women were; in fact, I saw a lot of the opposite. 

The implications of this specific targeting are not great—if certain women aren’t ‘allowed’ to participate in the “clean girl” trend, what does that make them, and what does that say about internet culture as a whole? Many micro-aesthetics function this way and, to nobody’s surprise, there is one glaring reason that every other possible explanation goes back to. 

The glamorization of over-consumption and capitalism has become normalized by TikTok’s “trend of the week” pattern. Not only are people overusing fast fashion websites such as Shein or Temu to get new clothes for each new style for cheap (while completely disregarding the well-known environmental impacts and harsh working conditions associated with these business practices), but companies like Lipzi (the creator of the anti-aging straw, seriously??) are constantly coming out with new products to combat frivolous flaws that shouldn’t have to matter to anyone who spends enough time engaging in hobbies, or going outside. 

I’m not trying to belittle anyone’s insecurities, but to say that many beauty-based flaws weren’t created by brands in order to get you to buy their product is a lie. It goes back to those women’s health magazines you always see in checkout lines at grocery stores; magazines telling you how to lose weight quick and that don’t actually promote health, just fat loss—it isn’t a new idea, it’s just being presented in a new way that more appeals to the coming generations. 

Last summer, there was a trend on TikTok targeting young girls, typically aged around 10-13, who would spend hundreds of dollars on Sephora skin care, specifically retinol-based products. The trend was focused on making fun of these girls, with TikTok users complaining about them crowding stores and being generally obnoxious. While I can understand feeling annoyed, my main concern was with why those young girls felt they needed anti-aging skin products before even hitting puberty. It makes me sad that those girls are worrying about wrinkles at the same age I was putting worms in my pockets, and it makes me angry that we as a society are allowing these cosmetic worries to reach kids. 

With that being said, I do understand the desire to identify with a particular in-group. When teenagers—or even young adults—are finding themselves, it can be nice to have a community of like-minded people to feel connected with. However, I don’t believe a sense of self can be found solely within the confines of micro-aesthetics. It may seem so, given how many there are, but categorizing yourself to have a better sense of who you are is just boxing yourself into something that restrains rather than liberates. 

People are more complex than that. If you like wearing exclusively white lace and pink bows, then more power to you. However, if you believe that you need to cut down on meals to fit the coquette aesthetic that tends to revolve around thinness, there’s an issue; there’s something stopping you from perfectly matching the category you want to be a part of. 

Eating disorder culture is just one example of a harmful behavior that’s been around for ages, but is now being prettily repackaged with white lace and a pink bow. Fashion and style should make women feel good about themselves, but all these micro-aesthetics do is make the majority of women feel inadequate. 

The micro-aesthetic epidemic is not one that I see ending anytime soon. Seeing as it massively helps brands sell their redundant products, it will likely not be quick to leave our screens. 

However, it is something that can be combated. While it can feel suffocating to constantly have shoved down our throats, it can be easily identified thanks to the years of mistreatment women have faced, and therefore eventually discounted as consumerist nonsense. 

It takes work to shake the societally imposed expectations, especially as a woman, considering they’re ingrained in many of our psyches; despite this, I do believe it’s possible to shake these external pressures. I am optimistic about the way such trends will be received going forward, as I have seen a lot of criticism regarding a lot of the specific subcategories I have discussed, and I am hopeful that critical thinking will reign supreme over capitalistic views of womanhood