Girl grip is the latest keyword to enter the internet’s lexicon. Phone on the palm, house keys on the pinkie, while a lip gloss and other accessories stay wedged between the fingers, girl grip has become the latest background for an Instagram post or an entertaining challenge to watch on TikTok. But this inoffensive trend is also indicative of the real space women hold, and the systems set for women to occupy space.
When it comes to global fashion design, womenswear has often relegated pockets to a bonus, a luxury for some but never a necessity. Traditional kimonos would create makeshift pockets within the sleeves, while sarees in South Asia would use the leftover draped fabric to create a makeshift pouch for necessities. Nowadays, jeans come with faux pockets, while most dresses, pants, and abayas opt out of the option.
This is especially ironic when considering that between men and women, women often have more to carry with them simply because their needs are different—toiletries, beauty products, and the trusty self-defence weapon are just some of the essentials men can go without.
While bags offer a practical solution, girl grip is born because bags cannot do the one job pockets can: that is, to allow things to stay close to the body.
In a metaphorical sense, girl grip reveals to us all the ways women take up space in the world. For centuries, women were societally instructed to be “seen and not heard”, and diminished in most areas of humanity’s design, be it medicine, economics, or art. At the same time, they were the proponents of pop culture, upholding communities with their domestic work and emotional labour. Living in a sense of paradox, women are forced to hold but not store away. It’s a pattern artist Maira Kalman noticed all the way in 2024. Her book, Women Holding Things, speaks to the way women hold things both literally and metaphorically. So their hands perfect the girl grip, holding ideas alongside matcha and lip gloss.
In recent times, the one place women can unapologetically take up space has been the internet. From curated communities to moving market trends, the internet is the one spot where women aren’t asked to adjust, but simply be. And maybe that’s why the all-too-familiar girl grip is out in the open; it turns an unfortunate adjustment into a stage to showcase both a woman’s identity and her capability. And the hands, like always, can hold both.
