Love it or hate it, TikTok captures all the trends and phenomena shaping our contemporary societies. Thus, the trendy social network sees the birth of trends that are sometimes avant-garde, sometimes conservative, sometimes revolutionary, sometimes problematic. Lately, it’s that of “meuf half” which is the subject of public debate. Originally part of a “simple observation”this tendency could profoundly damage our self-esteem.
It’s a French woman named Lily Rose (aka @lunaindaclub on TikTok) who is behind this trend. The video of her titled “POV: You are a middle-aged girl”, it accumulates to this day almost 320,000 mentions ‘likes’, 4,200 comments, 18,000 registrations and 7,900 shares… An engagement rate that reveals how much the trend is taking hold among TikTokers today. Then taken up by Rosanna (@Rosiconique on TikTok), a former reality TV candidate who participated The Villa of Broken Hearts , the trend has only grown in recent days. We explain what it consists of and why it can be problematic.
What is a “meuf mid”?
It’s time for definitions. The etymology of the expression already gives us a clue to the meaning of the term: “mid” is in fact the contraction of the word “middle” in English, which can be translated as “medium” in French. If we stick to its literal translation, a “meuf half” it is therefore a “average woman” . The creator of the content herself defines it like this: “An average girl, basically, is a beautiful girl, like a 5 or 7/10, but she’s not ugly, you see. » You will have understood: the “meuf half”so this is the “average girl”, the one we don’t look back on; There “woman of average beauty” but which does not transcend.
A hierarchy of beauty that damages the self-esteem of those involved
Throughout the video, to support her thesis, Lily Rose strives to provide daily anecdotes and small life experiences that demonstrate that she is far from being a fatal beauty, unlike some women. “I know I’m a middle-aged girl because if I cut my hair in a bob tomorrow, I’d be disgusting, like no one would tell me the time”, “I know I’m a middle-aged girl because they tell me ‘you’re cute’ but not ‘you are beautiful’ (…) or not ‘you are a model of beauty’ “, he says lightly.
By acting this way, he constantly puts himself in perspective with those he considers “10/10”; those whose beauty is dazzling and impressive. What he doesn’t necessarily realize is that he unconsciously contributes to this the hierarchy of different types of beauty : its counterparts rated 10/10 would be the top part of the basket, while it would be the middle part of the basket, the hidden one. Even the small rating system used reinforces this idea of hierarchy.
If the user wishes reassuring and thoughtful towards herself and towards her sisters with a very “Girl Power” conclusion, the impact of a message depends on both its messenger and the form in which it was delivered; and its recipient, and how the latter will interpret it. However, as we know, the TikTok audience is very young: therefore they do not necessarily have the skills to filter the information communicated to them, nor the sufficient maturity to interpret the message in a nuanced way. By discovering the video of her, little girls could get started give priority to types of beautyto rank themselves in relation to each other… Thus destroying their long-term self-esteem.
A vision of beauty based on the “Male Gaze”
Among the arguments given to explain her point of view, one mentions her interactions with her male colleagues. At a certain point we hear him say: “I know I’m a procuress because a boy has already disappointed me (= put a rake on it, ed.). And for me, if you are a 10/10, no guy in the world will disappoint you. Even if the guy has a girlfriend, he is capable of giving up if you are an idiot. » This topic can be problematic because it unwittingly unfolds a vision of beauty based essentially on the male gaze (the so-called “Male gaze”). In fact, this implies that pleasing the male gender is a guarantee of the level of beauty of the woman in question…
It’s still: a united and caring sisterhood, which recognizes itself in the “meuf mid”
You would have thought the TikToker would have been trashed in the associated comments. In fact, many women sympathize with the main interested person. Many of them also consider themselves as “middle girls”to share their experiences of “average girl”, or to reassure the main interested party about its beauty. Messages of support are coming in the comments section: “If you’re a middle-aged girl, what are we *crying emoji »; “It’s a missile he’s half talking about”; “I’m a middle-aged girl because at almost 30 people tell me ‘you’re cute’ *laughing emoji’ “.
This benevolence is in fact a reflection of that of the creator herself who, after having discussed her particular case at length, finally invites women to love themselves : “ And actually it doesn’t matter being an ‘average’, you can’t be a 10/10 (…) I do everything to be a 10/10, I can’t, I’m at my best moment at the moment. It does not matter. In short, be beautiful girls, be ‘average girls’, love each other, that’s what matters.» And that’s pretty good news.
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Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
