Niba gets into books that fit the ‘that girl’ aesthetic. According to Refinery 29, “‘that girl’ isn’t just healthy, she’s professionally successful and looks her best at every moment. She wakes up every morning at 5.30am so she can seize the day and her nails are always uniform, manicured and eternally chip-free.”
Being “that girl” means to become someone that looks beautiful and healthy and finds it easy going through her daily life. Oftentimes, “that girl” online is a fake and filtered view at someone’s life, watered down to look minimalistic and aesthetic. Other times, “that girl” is someone who has their shit together and is confident in who they are. Either way, “that girl” is someone many aspire to become. Unfortunately, this aspiration can lead to many feeling bad about themselves rather than actually wanting to improve their life. This is no fault of those people, but rather the comparison that people make when looking at themselves and their screens. With the continued rise of social media, the comparisons people are making between themselves and their screens are increasing to a worrying degree.
In the second segment Mariquita auditions for a role with the Fairway Players to uncover just who did what and why in The Appeal, an epistolary mystery by Janice Hallett. The Appeal has all the classic elements of a good mystery: duplicity, intrigue, and a dog named Woof. Plus, it’s very diverting!
Books Mentioned:
How to Disappear by Sharon Huss Roat
Bombshell by Rowan Maness
The Confidence Code for Girls: Taking Risks, Messing Up, & Becoming Your Amazingly Imperfect, Totally Powerful Self by Katty Kay & Claire Shipman
BLOOM: A Journey to Self-Love by Brittany Travesté
Beyond Beautiful: A Practical Guide to Being Happy, Confident, and You in a Looks-Obsessed World by Anuschka Rees
The Appeal by Janice Hallett
Follow and support our hosts:
Follow Niba: Instagram | Twitter | TikTok | YouTube | Website
Follow Mariquita: Instagram
Beyond the Box: Our weekly round-up of blog and podcast content delivered directly to your inbox every Friday
This episode was edited by Phalin Oliver and produced by Renee Powers on the ancestral land of the Dakota people.
Original music by @iam.onyxrose
Learn more about Feminist Book Club on our website, sign up for our emails, shop our Bookshop.org recommendations, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest.
