Online, “Succession” character Kendall Roy has been described as many things: depressed, desperate for attention, cringe.
But to her die-hard fans, Kendall, played by Jeremy Strong, is just a «girl.»
In internet jargon, that descriptor is not pejorative. Fans online have reused the term to tag their favorite men (fictional or real).
«Babygirl», often written as a single word, has gained popularity as a description not of little girls, but of male actors and male characters. In recent months, «girl» has become a catch-all term that applies to a variety of men: some have used the word to describe a man they perceive to be vulnerable and submissive, while others use it to describe men sullen and melancholic.
Because «the exact metric of what makes a man a girl [are] apparently still loose,» according to Meme Database Know Your Memethere is no succinct definition of the word as it is used on social media.
The term has been applied to the actor Pedro Pascual, as well as Joel, the character he plays in the HBO series “The Last of Us”. It has also been used to describe the actor’s vulnerability. pablo mezcal and the extravagance of the actor willem dafoe. These are just a few of the many men who have been considered «babies.»
«Girls are like ‘he’s a girl’ and he’s the darkest, most disturbing, brooding, most tortured man you’ve ever seen,» one person tweeted.
“Babygirl” has been used in its current context since at least 2021, but its popularity has only grown, according to Phillip Hamilton, editor of Know Your Meme.
In 2023, “babygirl” exploded on social media, often linked to streaming episodes of popular TV shows, and entered the mainstream internet vocabulary. Some experts also point out that «girl» marks an interesting milestone in Internet linguistics, in which a female term is applied to a male figure in a way that is neither pejorative nor derogatory.
Sylvia Sierra, an assistant professor of communication studies and rhetoric at Syracuse University, said sexism and misogyny are at the root of why heteronormative men often resist being called a feminine term. «Babygirl» could be different.
Usually, there is a “negative valence” associated with these terms for women. … With ‘girl’, you’re not seeing that. He it’s actually used in a positive way, like you’re highlighting favorable qualities in a man,” said Sierra, who has a Ph.D. in linguistics from Georgetown University.
Social media accelerates the spread, and in some cases the acceptance, of gender-defying words and terms, Sierra said. But, she said, it’s not impossible for a phrase like «girl» to take off in real life.
It is not clear who coined «girl» as a term for men; The first documented case of Know Your Meme of the phrase directed at men is in a 2017 post on Wattpad, a free platform where people write stories. From there, the term grew on sites like Tumblr and was used predominantly in fandoms to describe male characters.
Hamilton suggested that there is humor in the incongruity between the term and the men to whom «girl» is applied. He added that it seems that many of the men called «girl» would be offended if they found out that they are called the term online.
«It’s kind of the opposite of what a typical type of manly man would want to be called, right?» he said. “But online that works.”
For Leila Loiza, 23, a Twitter user who tweeted that both Kendall Roy and «It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia» actor Charlie Day are «babies,» the change in language to be more gender-fluid and inclusive It is exciting.
“It’s a shift towards terms that are used towards a more female audience and now they’re opening up to a more male audience,” Loiza said. «So it’s a further step forward in gender-neutral terms.»
Loiza said she began using the term earlier this year, though she recalled that actor Shemar Moore’s catchphrase of «girl» on the show «Criminal Minds,» where he played Derek Morgan, was also popular on social media.
Twitter user Din M’Rini, 25, described Pascal as the original «girl.» But he pointed out that the current «girl» king is Kendall Roy.
M’Rini said watching language evolve online to put a more positive spin on feminine words being applied to men is «beautiful.» She said she, too, is looking forward to if and when «girl» makes the leap from social media term to real-life compliment.
«I can’t wait to see the day when I’m at the gym or something, and a gym buddy next to me is like, ‘Oh, he’s so baby.'»