In mid-May of this year, Olivia Maher posted a simple tiktok in her kitchen describing a meal she dubbed “Girl Dinner”— low effort meals consisting of a smorgasbord of ingredients scavenged from the fridge, freezer, and pantry. What started as a quick video has turned into a viral trend with thousands of videos using the Girl Dinner hashtag set to songs that have been made to accompany the trend. 

Now, in August, it seems that Girl Dinners are here to stay. In an internet culture where trends cycle faster than ever, what is it that has made this one so ubiquitous? With the release of Greta Gerwig’s sensational Barbie Movie, and the seasonal staples of “Hot Girl Walks”, and “Hot Girl Summer”, a renewed embrace of a feminine identity online seems to have set the stage for the still-growing internet trend. The ethos of Girl Dinner removes the pressure to produce high-labor and aesthetically pleasing meals, and instead embraces indulgence and cravings which result in an oddly satisfying weirdness to the plates presented on social media. 

Olivia Maher, creator of the Girl Dinner, and Mold Magazine’s Madeleine Young discuss all things Girl Dinner in this episode of Food Futures.