#GirlsGirl: A Thematic Analysis of Feminist Practice, Empowerment, and Solidarity on TikTok

We are in a social moment where girls and young women are dominating the discourses and trends in popular culture. This study explores the 'girl's girl' phenomenon on TikTok as a site where young women engage in critical conversations around feminist practice, empowerment, and solidarity. Grounded in the symbolic interactionist perspective of emotions, a qualitative thematic analysis is conducted on 25 TikTok videos to examine how young women construct feminism, incorporate feminist practices into their everyday interactions, and form new conceptions of selfhood while navigating competing discursive resources. The findings reveal three main themes: (re)defining empowerment and solidarity, everyday gendered and feminist practice, and interpersonal relationships. Ultimately, the girl's girl trend encompasses an effort to dismantle implicit and pervasive forms of internalized misogyny through building affective relations between women. Emotions are central to how young women interpret their gendered selves, feminist identities, and interactions with others. An individualized and relational approach to feminist practice is situated within everyday interactions and socially gendered experiences – constructing empowerment and solidarity in a way that reconciles individual agency with collective responsibility.