Traditional hot girls will always be hot. But for those of Us who grew up feeling more like Laney Boggs than Cher Horowitz, the loud celebration of women who live and act outside the box on-screen and off — is all that.
Funny, unfilited A-listers who are proudly just a little bit awkward are a resistance. The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri is an Emmy and Golden Globe winner who’s done brand work for It Girl staples like Loewe and Prada, but she’s also someone who always thanks Ireland in awards speeches because — she famously joked in 2023 — she played Jenny the donkey in The Banshees of Inisherin. (Her delivery was so dry, we’re only mostly sure she was joking.)
Fresh off her Oscar win for Anora, Mikey Madison has reportedly been turning down big-budget megafranchise rules in favor of parts in films like Reptilia, about a dental hygienist who gets seduced by a mermaid (of course). It’s hard to tell where Jenna Ortega ends and goth dreamgirl Wednesday Addams begins, and Rachel Sennott — whose signature move is to always look like she’s frowning, even when she’s smiling — cemented her role as an official weird-girl mascot alongside Edebiri in 2023’s queer-fight-club-themed Bottoms. Their choices are paving the way for women to feel comfortable in their skin by taking chances and never apologizing for their authenticity.
Because here’s the thing: Playing by the rules — being palatable, agreeable, polished — doesn’t make sense right now. In the face of a regressive society, the “quirky girl” wave acts as a punk-spirited rebellion and a refusal to conform to the traditional version of femininity.
It’s important to note that owning who you are does not equate with being a “pick-me,” and it isn’t a synonym for the forever eye-roll-inducing manic pixie dream girl. We’re so much more than a one-note object of the male gaze. No, this isn’t about a man at all. That’s kind of the point.
This is a cultural shift; both the beginning of a new big thing and something women have been screaming since the dawn of time: the ability to simply be ourselves, whatever that may be. It’s about celebrating individuality, throwing out gender norms and societal constructs and letting our freak flag fly. Maybe you love video games, makeup Pilates or comic book conventions. Maybe it’s all four. Be a million different things at once.
And while fictional characters have always been where we offbeat gals have found inspiration, seeing real-life Hollywood royalty lead the charge — both via the roles they take and their public personals — is new. We no longer have to run to our favorite coming-of-age stories to imagine what it would be like to be accepted and celebrated. Now we see ourselves in women who use their own platforms to unapologetically embrace their quirks. They are boldly living a filterless existence on every level,which gives the rest of us room to do the same. Watching celebrities push against the pressure to conform, ditching polish for personality, makes it easier for us to do it. Relatability is finally aspirational. It’s about damn time.
