Warning: Discussion of disordered eating.
If you've been on TikTok at all recently, you've likely noticed the idea of "girl dinner" popping up all over the place. So, BuzzFeed spoke to two dietitians to get to the bottom of the trend — and why parts of it warrant concern.
For context, the New York Times credits the trend's origins with Olivia Maher, a showrunner’s assistant, who said of her dinner of bread, cheese, grapes, and gherkins, "This is my dinner. I call this 'girl dinner' or 'medieval peasant.'"
The term blew up, and #GirlDinner has been used over 154 million times on TikTok since. Some continued with the theme of a quasi-charcuterie board:
Others took a more leftovers approach, such as one viral video that showed a woman eating part of a Chipotle bowl with a carrot, peanut butter, and praline peanuts:
Subsequently, some of the most viral videos on the hashtag are more of a bare bones approach. One video with 1.8 million views dubbed a plate of corn chips with melted cheese "girl dinner." One video with over 9 million views shows plain pasta with olive oil and a sprinkling of cheese. To another user, a bowl of popcorn was "girl dinner" — to the tune of 795k likes.
Indeed, one of the most viral videos about girl dinner, currently standing at 4.8 million views, said that "girl dinner" was "#sleepfordinner." Comments include: "Girl dinner and breakfast" and "My go-to when I'm starving."
Of course, some of the #girldinner videos are likely intended to a degree of jest. Still, criticism of the trend began, with concerns mounting that the videos celebrated restrictive or even disordered eating by branding it under the buzzy term.
"Girl dinner does not mean under fed dinner," one user said. "I know it's meant to be jokes, but it is glorifying disordered eating as a cute little girly thing."
BuzzFeed first spoke with Esther Tambe, a New York-based dietician with a master’s degree in nutrition, who first came across the term on TikTok despite saying that she "usually actually avoids" food trends on the app. Speaking of the term's origins, she said, "I can see it as a snack plate. With the work I do, I'd rather you eat something than not eat at all."
Indeed, Esther said that it could work "for convenience" if people did not have the time "to get to a full meal." However, she continued, "It's also a very individualized thing. What one person can eat as 'dinner,' the next person may not be able to eat — they may be hungry, they have increased energy needs, and they need to eat more food."
Esther further said that the branding of all of this as girl could potentially lead to a situation where women feel "they have to eat a certain way. Or, essentially, that they need to eat less than males." Instead, Esther said, "You should be eating what actually is providing you full, adequate nourishment — which may be more than that, for some people that may be sufficient."
"We don't know what age group or who's watching these videos and thinking, 'This is the thing to do,'" she continued. "Once we start having this type of messaging that can be in someone's mind, 'I shouldn't eat this' or 'this is too much' — that can lead to disordered eating."
"You can still have this snack plate with nutrients, but let's not call that a full meal. Let's call it for what it is," Esther added when asked about a healthier approach to nutrition. "We don't need to have these terms that we identify with or align with to feel better about how we're eating. [...] It's really not about health. It's about a trend."
BuzzFeed then spoke to Kathleen Meehan, an LA-based dietician with an MS in nutritional sciences. She told us, "Initially, I don't have concerns with the concept. It's not a new concept to have a meal that is made out of multiple different types of foods, like the charcuterie plate meal."
"It's not unreasonable to have to come up with something quick, convenient, and feed yourself in some way," she continued. "I don't love the name. I don't know why we're labeling it 'girl dinner,' that feels kind of infantilizing. I know, it's probably just labeling something for fun. [...] But does it need to be labeled something that's gendered?"
"Not every meal has to be 'perfectly balanced,'" she continued. "I would encourage people to consider whether it has all the components of a meal and if it actually feels satisfying and enjoyable. If there is any intent behind the like trend on TikTok because certain influencers are sort of saying 'Eat like me, look like me,' that makes me pause."
"It feels mostly harmless and then every now and then I see something, and I'm like, No, I don't like that part of it."
The National Eating Disorders Association helpline is 1-800-931-2237; for 24/7 crisis support, text “NEDA” to 741741.