VSCO is for the girls...

Ever since there have been tween and teen girls (hell, before "tween" was a word) there have been trends made instantly cool by those girls. Every generation has had its' popular "it" things and those things influence fashion, slang, music, hairstyles and even social and political consciousness.  Gibson girls, Flappers, Bobby soxers, Flower children, Valley girls... (granted, some of those are slightly older demographics) And, without fail, those girls have historically been met with disdain. In more recent generations tween and teen girls are, without fail, ridiculed and looked at as silly and not to be taken seriously. I mean, those girls are just ditzy, frivolous and vain right?? Their overall image in the media is portrayed as vapid and self-absorbed, what with all the selfies and filters and Starbucks and all. But let me point out that "those silly tween and teen girls" are a force to be reckoned with. Those girls influence trends and marketing in a way that is unstoppable. Want to know if something is cool or not? Ask a teenage girl. And I don't just mean what is hot or fashionable, I mean important issues of substance as well. Think social change happens because of old people? Think again. New ideas, revolutionary ideas, come from our youth. Malala Yousafzai, Greta Thunberg, Marley Dias, Thandiwe Abdullah... all of these young women are doing huge, amazing important things.
Check out this link if you don't know some of these names https://time.com/5463721/most-influential-teens-2018/

 So anyway, what the heck is a VSCO Girl?? Glad you asked.
If you have a tween or teen girl in your life, you have undoubtedly heard some of the language or seen some of the fashion. The term comes from social media, an app and photography platform called VSCO. And since tween and teen girls are obviously all over social media, this term spiked in popularity this past year and it became a subculture. Here is a link about the app: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/what-is-vsco-smartphone-photographers/


Let me break down a few things for you:

FASHION:
                                         
                                                                 

Here is a "Basic Starter Pack"

The aesthetic is kind of a neo-hippie, beachy, revamped 80's look. Pair the accessories with oversized, comfy clothing like giant sweatshirts and leggings and you've got a VSCO look. Each girl has her own take on it but there are some definite commonalities. Scrunchies are a must. Worn in the hair or on the wrist (or given to cute boys as a sign that, duh, I think you're cute). For such a casual look, there are bits of more high maintenance things too: peep the nails or the good skin care products or expensive HydroFlask water bottle. 

CAUSES:

These girls are socially and environmentally conscious. Yes, really. The water bottle is a nod to the importance of recycling and staying away from single use plastics. The Starbucks cup will definitely be recycled. These girls are very aware of climate change and are concerned for the world us old people are leaving them. Today's youth are more involved and active than people want to give them credit for. Don't discount them because they are taking selfies while they do a highway cleanup. 

LANGUAGE:

Ok, this is the part that a lot of parents are like "Um, what?"

The two most common phrases you'll hear are:

*And I oop!  

Just think of this like you were in the middle of a sentence and something surprising happened so you had to stop mid sentence. It's just an expression of shock or being stopped in your tracks.

*Sksksk

Typically typed out, it is meant to show that you are frantically typing a response on your keyboard and can be used to indicate laughter or in place of "omgggg". When the girls are saying it out loud they are usually using it to make fun of themselves for how a typical VSCO girl sounds when she is talking to her friends. 

As silly as they may sound, let us not forget the slang phrases we all used growing up and how tween and teen language so easily becomes part of our normal speech. "Cool" and "Bad" used to refer to temperature and unpleasant things. I'm not saying the VSCO phrases are going to have that kind of longevity; clearly we aren't saying "Gag me with a spoon" so much any more, but it is fairly common for young girls to have their own language. 

I am currently living with a VSCO girl. It is only one part of her; she also plays drums, is on the school basketball team, the drama club and is a fierce feminist. The whole reason I am writing this is because I don't want people to discount young girls as superficial and silly because they are living their best lives and having fun doing their thing. It's the VSCO girls' world and we're just living in it.