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The World’s Obsession with ‘French Girls’ Must End
French girls this and french girls that, where did this trend come from and why?
I went to the online blog and wasn’t surprised that there was another article about French girls at the top of the page. The headlines are all structured the same, ‘The French Girl’s Guide to X.’ These guides are usually written for Western women by middle-aged Western women who once upon a time went to Paris.
French sources exist, too, of course. Caroline de Maigret, a French model, wrote the book How to be Parisian Wherever You Are. Fashion advice from the iconic Coco Chanel continues to inspire articles and advice, like “before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off” or “a girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.” And there’s always the Instagram pages of French models and influencers if reading isn’t your style.
I want to clarify that this isn’t about real French girls, as in female children born in France. It’s about a Western trend involving women trying to emulate ‘French culture.’ The question here is why? Where did this ‘French girl’ trend come from, and why are Western women and media, for lack of a better word, obsessed?