I’m sure you’ve seen the TikToks. Girl dinner, girl math, girl this, girl that. And now, a girlhood playlist for the start of Women’s History Month. I’ve seen a few, usually older women, become puzzled by the recent trend to leap readily into the infantilized gender roles they suffocate against. It’s an understandable qualm, though one that I think misses a layer of cultural context. The internet is so often a space dictated by male tastes, mirroring a broad tendency to mock traits and interests considered feminine.  But it turns out post-irony swings both ways. The recent brazen reclaiming of all things “girl” tears apart the notion that the path to female respectability lies in seeking male approval. It turns out we are allowed to be as immature, silly, shallow and stupid as we damn please. Because girlhood is an infinite spectrum. As a tall, broad-shouldered Black woman, I’m strong. But I’m also soft and squishy and delicate, and you’ll like it. In that vein of thought, this playlist celebrates women’s rights, women’s wrongs, and women’s literally everything else <3.

Featured graphic by Jeneta Nwosu