A “girl dinner” can include anything from random snacks to bowls of pasta. The only requirement? That you’re making it for yourself.
The TikTok trend, which went viral in July, has expanded to include more than simple showcases of personal girl dinners. It has opened up a complicated discussion around gender roles and disordered eating — and what exactly constitutes healthy nutrition.
In the girl dinner videos, women show how they eat when they’re home alone or without a partner or children to cook for. The dinners are almost always easy to make and they usually consist of a hodgepodge of different foods: a little bit of this, a little bit of that.
For some women, that means lining a plate with carrots, hummus, prosciutto and blocks of cheese. For others, that means whipping up a simple bowl of pasta covered in olive oil and parmesan cheese. Sometimes it’s just chicken nuggets, chocolate milk and a brownie.
“Girl dinner is what a lot of women are eating when they’re eating dinner alone, free from the labor of having to prepare a meal for a spouse or children,” YourTango notes in one explainer video. “It’s sort of the 2020s version of our moms eating a Lean Cuisine over the sink back in the ‘80s.”
For many people on the app, girl dinner is a fun and quirky way to show their enjoyment of mealtime variety, as well as showcase their resourcefulness in cooking up leftovers.
TikTok user @catherineanechiang tried to explain the overarching sentiment in one video. In it, she compared the spirit of girl dinner with “boy dinner.” In her girl dinner example, there are several different small dishes. Her boy dinner example is a steak and nothing else.
“I NEED variety,” one commenter noted under her video. “I feel like, at its very core, girl dinner is about having variety.”
“Girl dinner takes us back to our roots of foraging and gathering,” another commenter said.
“Girl dinner is also trying to minimize wasting food too, that’s why you had leftovers or sometimes people have snacks that need to be used up,” a third commenter wrote.
But the girl dinner trend has ventured into darker territory, sparking conversations about disordered eating, calorie-counting and the constitution of a truly healthy meal. Some experts believe girl dinners could trigger individuals with eating disorders, given that these dinners often feature small plates and minimal portions.
“The ‘girl dinner’ hashtag has broadened out to encourage girls to pick at their dinners rather than sit down and enjoy a nutrient-dense, well-balanced meal,” warned Jenna Hope, a registered nutritionist, on Healthline.
TikTok users have similarly pushed back against girl dinner videos that encourage calorie-cutting or disordered eating, such as the ones that feature nothing more than a few pieces of lettuce and a handful of fries. In other videos, people offer up an empty plate as a girl dinner candidate..
Concerns that TikTok feeds damaging content to young people aren’t new. In December 2022, the Center for Countering Digital Hate released a study revealing that TikTok had pushed videos about self-harm and disordered eating to 13-year-olds within a half hour of their arrival on the app.
TikTok has attempted to cut down on such content. When they type “eating disorder” or “thinspo” into the platform’s search bar, users are directed to a page with the message “you’re not alone.” It also provides a phone number to the National Alliance for Eating Disorders.
That, of course, doesn’t take away the risk that regular hashtags, such as #GirlDinners, will trigger some users. On TikTok’s safety page for eating disorders, the company urges people to speak with someone they trust, take a break from social media and attempt to better understand their triggers.
“Eating disorder behaviors… may also be triggered by the type of content you consume,” TikTok wrote. “Get to know what brings up uncomfortable or negative emotions about your appearance and/or body.”
The essence of girl dinner, after all, isn’t about restricting calories. It’s about eating whatever your heart desires. It’s important, then, to recognize that minimizing portions shouldn’t be the goal.
“I can fully support making a simple throw-together meal that includes protein, carbs, color and enough calories to be sustainable,” registered dietitian nutritionist Laura Ligos told CBS News. “However, I cannot support girls underfeeding themselves. So it’s just a matter of making sure to put enough food on your plate for girl dinners.”
