Is a VSCO Girl a Meme? An In-Depth Look at Gen Z‘s Quintessential Soft Girl

Scrunchies, Hydro Flasks, and ‘Sksksks‘ – the VSCO girl exploded onto the scene in 2019 as the meme-ified mascot of Gen Z‘s chill, environmentally conscious ‘soft girl‘ aesthetic. But where did this very specific style originator come from, and does she represent more than just a passing internet fad?

As an avid observer of internet culture and Gen Z trends, I‘ve done a deep dive on the rise of the VSCO girl phenomenon. In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll analyze everything from the meme‘s roots to its debated impact on teen girl culture.

Here‘s the tea, sis: by the end let‘s understand once and for all how VSCO girls influenced an entire generation‘s identity and what their legacy means moving forward.

A Breakdown of the VSCO Girl‘s Signature Look

Let‘s start by defining exactly what makes a VSCO girl so…VSCO.

The term refers specifically to the curated, laidback aesthetic teen girls display across social media (but especially Instagram and TikTok). Key elements include:

Outfits

• Oversize t-shirts or hoodies
• High waisted jean shorts or flowy skirts
• Leggings with baggy sweatshirts
• Puffy barrettes in the hair
• Scrunchies on wrist
• Puka shell necklaces
• Oversized low-top Converse
• Birkenstock Arizona sandals
• Crocs (with charms)
• White checkered Vans slip-ons

Accessories

• A Hydro Flask water bottle covered in stickers
• A metal straw for said Hydro Flask
• Brandy Melville backpack
• Apple Watch to close all three Activity rings
• Fjällräven Kånken backpack
• A mini backpack from PacSun
• Pura Vida bracelets
• Cowrie Shell chokers

Makeup

• Minimal and natural
• Ultra glowy skin
• Touches of blush and highlight
• Neutral eyeshadow
• Chapstick over lipstick
• Groomed brows

Hair

• Middle part
• Perfectly undone beach waves
• Scrunchies pulling back some strands
• Puffy clips or barrettes

Vibes

• Happy, bubbly energy
• Environmentally friendly
• Loves matcha lattes
• Enjoys taking artsy Instagram pics

Okay, so the soft girl‘s style is on point: laidback but carefully curated to project a chill Cali vibe. But the VSCO girl package encompasses so much more than just aesthetic.

Let‘s get into how she talks, what she‘s into, and why the meme blew up the way it did.

The VSCO Girl‘s Speech, Interests, and Habits

Beyond the fashion and accessories, VSCO girls also just behave in very specific ways. Some defining traits include:

• Using phrases like "sksksk" and "and I oop"
• Saying "doggo" and "chonker" when referring to cute dogs
• Always punctuating texts with exclamation points!
• Sharing photos of sunsets or flowers to Instagram
• Commenting "Take my breath away!" on crush‘s Instagram pics
• Parodying their own stereotypes through VSCO girl POV TikToks
• MakingARM gesture and saying "and I-" when catching themselves mid-sentence
• Expressing over-the-top excitement "YAS QUEEN!"
• Googling and sharing inspirational quotes
• Acting extremely shocked "No way!"
• Sipping Starbucks pink drinks
• Using metal straws to save turtles
• Saying "Sisters!!" when greeting friends
• Making friendship bracelets
• Always carrying Franciscan Monterey therapy lotion
• Using terms like "cancel", "tea", "shook"
• Planning shopping sprees at Brandy Melville
• Getting emotional listening to Billie Eilish
• Watching ‘The Bachelor‘ and ‘Grey‘s Anatomy‘ religiously
• Volunteering or donating to charities/causes
• Making vision boards for life goals
• Forming Girl Power squads
• Ringing an actual bell after completing school assignments

As you can see, VSCO girls have a very vibrant culture and vocabulary all their own. Their performative, over-the-top nature online parodies what some see as a basic or generic teen girl image. But by embracing the stereotypes, VSCO girls exert their power over labels placed on them.

Next let‘s trace the meme‘s viral origins story.

The Evolution of the VSCO Girl Meme

Unlike other generational figures like the Emo Kid or Prep, the VSCO girl came screaming out of nowhere in late 2018, reaching peak saturation by 2019.

While the VSCO app launched back in 2011 as a photo-editing platform, "VSCO girl" wasn‘t coined as a term until around 2018. Given the app‘s popularity with high school and college girls, it organically became shorthand for a certain Instagrammable aesthetic.

But it took younger Gen Z users on TikTok to truly blast the VSCO label into the meme stratosphere.

In January 2019, 16-year-old YouTuber Emma Chamberlain published a video titled "VSCO GIRL TRANSFORMATION". This early satire featured Chamberlain sipping Starbucks, waving scrunchies, and speaking in a caricatured VSCO vernacular.

The stereotypes codified in Chamberlain‘s video were quickly seized upon by other members of young Gen Z. Particularly on TikTok, teen girls began creating similar style parodies referencing metal straws, Hydro Flasks, and saying "sksksk".

TikTok videos parodying VSCO girl stereotypes blew up the meme in 2019. Image source.

What was once an organic youth label transformed into a full-blown internet meme by mid-2019. Together, Gen Z creators amplified the VSCO stereotypes into an entire contemporary folklore. #VSCOgirl received over 1.9 billion views on TikTok alone.

Soon the iconic scrunchies and catchphrases spread across all social platforms. "VSCO girl" skyrocketed as a Google search term, with queries doubling by August 2019.

By parodying and codifying the exacting VSCO look, Gen Z reclaimed stereotypes placed on them. They mobilized something as mundane as a water bottle into a totem of teen girl identity.

The VSCO meme ultimately revealed how savvy young digital natives are at manipulating symbols and trends to express themselves online.

Next let‘s debate whether the VSCO‘s wholesome image empowers teens or frames them reductively.

The Discourse: Does the VSCO Girl Stereotype Help or Harm?

The VSCO meme sparked a lot of debate on whether it ultimately uplifted or limited teen girls.

On one hand, supporters viewed VSCO girl culture as:

• An alternative to destructive online behaviors like self-harm or dangerous challenges
• Celebrating friendship and spreading kindness through their "good vibes only" motto
• Promoting self-care, meditation, and wellness in their routines
• Championing progressive causes like sustainability and social justice
• Displaying creativity through interests like photography and art

So some see the soft girl persona as groomed, polished, and unproblematic – a welcome contrast to "edgier" groups like e-boys.

But critics argue VSCO culture:

• Is consumeristic, pressuring girls to buy certain brands to fit the look
• Promotes a lack of authenticity or originality in its generic tastes
• Appropriates or misuses terms from AAVE like "periodt" and "sis"
• Is exclusive, since not all girls have means to afford trendy clothes and accessories
• Reinforces societal beauty standards with its performative perfectionism

To writer Amanda Mull in The Atlantic:

"It’s difficult to discern an actual person underneath all that prepackaged feminine emphasis. In that, VSCO girls represent a powerful continuity between themselves and the feminine tropes that have come before them."

So while VSCO girls outwardly celebrate femininity, some believe they perpetuate the same reductive stereotypes and societal constraints as past decades.

Ultimately there are merits to both perspectives.

The VSCO girl walks a tricky line between parodying versus personifying female stereotypes. Her interests contain multitudes: basic and complex, empowering and limiting, intentionally ironic yet also earnest.

She offers an accessible entrypoint for teens to bond over universal likes. But in reducing girls down to scrunchies and catchphrases, the meme may also obstruct more multifaceted self-expression.

How Actual Teen Girls View the VSCO Meme IRL

To understand the IRL impact of internet culture, you have to go straight to the generation living it.

I talked with several high school girls about their personal thoughts on VSCO culture and if the meme empowers or diminishes their self-image.

Here are some key insights from their experiences:

• "I‘ll use some of the lingo like ‘sksksk‘, but I don‘t want to be defined by a whole preppy look. I prefer my own style."

• "It just seems basic to me – VSCO girls are kinda the mainstream look for teen girls right now."

• "I love the environmental message and spreading positivity. But it feels a little forced or performative sometimes."

• "I don‘t have the money to buy all the brands and stuff they use. It‘s cool to follow but mostly unattainable for me."

• "I totally laugh at the memes and videos about it! But I don‘t actually want to be called a VSCO girl in real life."

In summary: most don‘t self-identify as "VSCO girls" outright. They view it as an amusing meme but not a label they personally adopt in real life.

Many girls enjoy the trend‘s creativity and humor, but also feel pressure to visually conform to the stereotype. Fundamentally, they aim to develop identities extending beyond one online aesthetic.

The responses reflect how Gen Z interacts with memes in complex ways: participating ironically online but resisting total identification IRL.

Examining the Male Counterparts: The VSCO Boy and the E-Boy

Female youth culture rarely develops in isolation – it often has contemporary male equivalents. Let‘s compare and contrast VSCO girls with their generation‘s leading male aesthetics.

First up: the VSCO boy.

In many ways the VSCO boy mirrors the girl‘s laidback, artsy vibes. Elements include:

• Oversized graphic tees
• Hoodies under jean jackets
• Beanies
• Vans slip-ons
• Artsy Instagram feed
• Retro cameras or Polaroids
• Skating
• Listening to alt bands like Tame Impala
• Drinking iced coffee
• Wavy tousled hair

However, while the VSCO boy exudes softboi energy, his style remains relatively un-codified or mocked online. This likely stems from societal double standards that allow men to display "feminine" interests without judgement.

Meanwhile, the e-boy presents the VSCO girl‘s conceptual opposite within meme culture. As described by media site Voir:

"The e-boy is somewhat similar to the VSCO girl, as the male equivalent to ‘I‘m not like other girls’".

With his alt, emo style, the e-boy rejects colorful pop vibes:

• All black outfits
• Chains and wallet chains
• Dyed black hair with shaved sides
• Dark eyeliner in cat-eye style
• Band shirts and hoodies
• Oversize skater shoes or combat boots
• Chokers
• Tattoos and piercings
• Obsession with anime

So while the e-boy shares some youthful irony with the soft girl, his aesthetic centers dark tones, punk fashion, and a veneer of teen angst.

Ultimately, both memes prove that teen culture remains multifaceted – even within the same generation.

These micro-communities let young people sample identities and aesthetics in the journey toward self-discovery.

Tips for Parents: Is VSCO Safe for My Teen Girl?

As a parent, you may wonder if the VSCO app and meme pose any risks or if they are just harmless internet fun. Here‘s my advice as an experienced tech expert:

• VSCO itself is fairly innocuous compared to platforms like Instagram or TikTok. It focuses on photo editing rather than socializing.

• That said, VSCO does allow easy sharing to other sites. So remind teens not to share personal info publicly or post images showing locations, school names, etc.

• Look through VSCO and other apps yourself so you understand the platforms. See what content it enables teens to access.

• Have open discussions about how viral aesthetics do not reflect reality. The "perfect" images teens see online are carefully curated and edited.

• Recognize that following trends is part of forming an identity during adolescence. Strictly banning apps rarely improves behavior.

• Focus on teaching social media literacy and critical thinking instead. Empower teens to engage consciously.

• Set reasonable limits around screen time. But also take interest in the memes and content your teen finds funny or captivating. Ask questions to understand their perspectives.

With an open dialogue and your own digital literacy, you can help guide your teen through the maze of social media and youth culture.

Where Are They Now: Has the VSCO Girl Meme Endured?

Like all internet micro-trends, the VSCO girl eventually faded from its moment at the zeitgeist. But elements of the aesthetic continue influencing youth culture today.

Let‘s examine the meme‘s cultural staying power beyond its initial virality.

• On TikTok, #VSCOgirl still holds 1.9 billion views, indicating ongoing interest despite peak saturation passing.

• Searches for "VSCO girl" remain 5x higher than pre-meme levels as of 2022. Source

• The VSCO app itself has grown from 30 million to over 200 million users since the meme began. Source

• Soft girl type fashions persist, with retailers selling "VSCO girl starter packs" containing Hydro Flasks, scrunchies, puka shell necklaces and metal straws.

• New youth aesthetics like cottagecore and light academia retain the VSCO vibe of romantic, feminine nostalgia.

• On Instagram and YouTube, popular teen influencers like Emma Chamberlain continue rocking oversize tees, Birkenstocks, 90s hair clips, and other VSCO girl staples.

So while no longer dominating the online conversation like in 2019, the soft girl‘s DNA lives on through lingering trends. Her aesthetic nostalgia remains appealing among Gen Z listeners of bedroom pop and consumers of "indie sleaze" media.

In many ways, the VSCO girl was just the first archetypal internet identity native to Gen Z culture. Her impact cracked open the floodgates for endless remixed youth aesthetics online.

Understanding the VSCO Girl‘s Cultural Significance

At first glance, the VSCO girl represents just another fleeting internet micro-trend centered on consumerism and restrictive femininity. After all, how much depth can a water bottle sticker meme really hold?

But gazing closer reveals potent insights into Generation Z‘s identity.

Here are the key takeaways:

• VSCO girls demonstrate Gen Z‘s ability to seize basic items and transform them into symbols of generational identity. The media they collectively imbue meaning into – scrunchies, Vans, metal straws – expresses postmodern values of irony, parody, and hyper-specificity in meaning.

• Their cohesive aesthetic arose as much from parody as authenticity. In satirizing and codifying VSCO looks, Gen Z girls exerted agency over stereotypes placed upon them.

• Elements of sincerity and true creativity existed under the layers of irony. Their trend championed friendship, wellness, and environmental causes.

• VSCO girls epitomized identity performance filtered through youthful feminine expression. Their over-the-top interest in say, hair scrunchies, intentionally mirrored the performative aspects of femininity itself.

• The VSCO girl 2.0 may fade, but her aesthetic nostalgia endures as a touchpoint for Gen Z‘s identity. She pioneered the concepts of internet micro-generations and niche meme aesthetics now commonplace online.

At her core, the VSCO girl underlined a generation‘s fluency in manipulating digital culture for self-expression and community. For late 2010s Gen Z youth finding themselves amidst camera phones and internet humor, VSCO girl culture became a tool of both imitation and imagination.

And in the end, the ability to mold identity from even frivolous bits of disposable internet content? Now that‘s some serious Girl Power.

Final Thoughts

I hope this deep dive has illuminated all facets of the VSCO girl phenomenon that fascinated millions. Beyond the scrunchies and stickers, the meme revealed profound insights into how modern youth culture operates.

VSCO girls represent just one aesthetic micro-generation online. But their story proves the internet enables endless identity experimentation for teens navigating a digitally-immersed world.

While the specifics fade, the VSCO girl‘s legacy remains imprinted across the memes and trends Gen Z envisions into reality each day. Her impact endures anywhere youth are empowered to find themselves in the vast landscape of cultural symbols on the internet.