While so many trends cycle in and out of fashion, one specific item has recently taken the world by storm: bows. In everyday look, it has become more and more common to tie off your braid with a strand of ribbon or clip a fabric bow to the base of your ponytail, but the trend has started to explode into the high fashion world as well. At red carpets and fashion weeks, stars like Jennifer Lopez and Elle Fanning have donned the accessory, helping boost their popularity even more. Their prevalence has also expanded to jewelry, art, and other forms of decoration. Bows can be used to add a touch of softness to an outfit or highlight specific colors and textures while keeping your hair back in a unique and often practical style. However, the rise of hair bows also stands as an overdue love letter to girlhood.
The trend comes as a breath of fresh air in an era where kids are forced to grow up far before they’re ready to. Many claim this is a result of increased internet exposure, but not all blame can be placed on technology. At the end of the day, children just want to be taken seriously. They are just people who want to be respected and listened to as their older peers are. For young girls, this often means abandoning traditionally feminine interests or style.
While society has progressed leaps and bounds in terms of gender equality, there are still deep rooted ideas that traditional femininity is weaker than traditional masculinity. It is for this same reason that tomboys are common but boys are generally dissuaded from taking part in conventionally feminine activities. Even though lots of progress has been made to fight these stereotypes, they still manage to influence many young girls, causing them to develop a resentment of their own gender, known as internalized misogyny. When they begin to believe that the qualities attributed to their gender are less than, they begin to distance themselves from their own girlhood, saying that they’re “not like other girls’ ‘ and mocking traditionally feminine interests. While the “pick me” and manic pixie dream girl archetypes have become the butt of many jokes, they still serve as a method for girls who want to be seen as capable and strong.
As a ubiquitous symbol of girlhood, bows are just one example of an item girls abandon in hopes of maturity and respect. As teenagers and adults begin to reincorporate bows into their hairstyles and wardrobes, they celebrate the femininity they were taught to reject as children and show how conventionally feminine items can be respectable and professional. They prove that you don’t have to completely subvert society’s ideals of womanhood in order to be seen as capable. Breaking down these stereotypes also helps it become more acceptable for boys to explore traditionally feminine interests without fear of being seen as weak. After all, things that are traditionally feminine aren’t weak. Look at how powerful a hair bow can be.
