YSEALI Pre-departure#2: Signs you have an “inner white girl” – Take the quiz now!

Note: This is open to everyone regardless of race, gender, etc. and is based on the SNL skit Inner White Girl, but make it Gen Z!

Hi everyone,

It’s Fall🍂🍁 aka the season of “white woman’s instagram,” dark academia, Christian and horse girl fall, and more!

I have an “inner white girl” due to scrolling Instagram too much in 2016, and I am proud of it! (They are the pioneers of self love and great philosophers in my opinion – more on that in a future post!)

As I prepare to embark on my YSEALI journey and experience fall in America, I wonder how she will grow and evolve :”)

Have you ever wondered if you have an inner white girl?

I have assembled this list, going from broad to hyper-specific. The more points you have, the stronger your inner white girl!

Disclaimer: this is a playful article made with love for our favorite things, not intended to stereotype or mock white people, and many of these traits are shared across cultures. Whiteness is a racial identity with historical context, and that “white girl culture” as an aesthetic is one of many cultural streams, not the definitive “white identity.” I have a deep respect for you all, and these insights are based off cultural immersion such as online Swiftie groups, TikTok subcultures such as sororitytok, fellow “inner white girls” in the Philippines, American friends, and more❤️

“But you’re an Asian guy!”

Here are my credentials:

Watched the Eras Tour film & Barbie movie three times with three groups of girls
Am in the Top 1% of Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, and Tate McRae Listeners
Own 3 Taylor vinyls (Thanks Juno)
Thoroughly enjoyed Brat, Barbie, and Wicked summer💚💖
RELIGIOUSLY drink PSLs in the Fall
I own one clothing item each from Brandy Melville, Lululemon, & Ralph Lauren (pending Alo Yoga)
Love reading hockey romance books, YA novels, and all things Austen!
I take Autumn VERY seriously

All right, now that you have no doubts about my culture and the online community that “raised” me, here is a quiz you can take🫵🏻 with bullet points that indicate you might have an inner white girl. Add them up and let me know your score!

P.S. I use it as shorthand for “inner American girl,” not all white women – they are not a monolith, yall!

Broad Category:

Have at least three favorite main pop girlies
Watched the Eras Tour movie and cried during “All Too Well (10-Minute Version).”
Own at least one vinyl of a pop girlie you’d defend with your life (Taylor, Lana, Olivia, Sabrina, etc.).
Participated in (or led) a “White Girl Dance Challenge” on TikTok or IG Reels.
Had both a “Brat Summer” and a “Barbie Summer”
Read and/or cried to nostalgic essays about girlhood
Posted a screenshot of lyrics to your story during a heartbreak or minor inconvenience.
Read “Little Women” or watched the musical and cried
Own at least one clothing item from Brandy Melville, Alo, LoveShackFancy, or Lululemon – or are a shopaholic
Have tried pilates, tennis, or polo – or took a self defense class
A matcha latte is one of your go-to drinks
You grew up as the “one with strict parents” and still have/had a curfew in your twenties
Have a favorite Disney princess!
Got worried sick if your friend didn’t text you she got home after a night out, only to find she fell asleep
Obsessed over the intro scenes to “Legally Blonde” and Clueless”

Advanced Ranking:

Watched Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team
Attended a themed party like “Taylor Swift Night,” “Barbenheimer,” or “Sad Girl Autumn Soirée.”
Watched “Legally Blonde” or “Mean Girls” more than three times
Did musical theatre or Glee Club in High School
Recreated an Eras Tour outfit at any event (bonus if it’s a Taylor Swift party)
Sang the bridge of “Cruel Summer” flawlessly during the Eras Tour movie
Cried at a sleepover, trauma bonding over the way men have treated you
Read a book from any of the ff. Authors: Hannah Grace, Suzanne Collins, Jane Austen
- (Bonus if you’ve read a hockey romance book!)
Had a meltdown over a pop girl’s new aesthetic or album rollout strategy (e.g., clean girl → coquette → weirdcore evolution), i.e. why isn’t Madison Beer keeping her look consistent? Why didn’t Normani promote Dopamine??
Used the phrase “she mothered” non-ironically about a pop artist.
Ran into skinnytok during a tiktok scroll
Someone has compared you to Glinda from “Wicked”
Your parents/relatives bought you pepper spray or a pink self-defense weapon
Ranked every Taylor album on a tier list and changed the ranking based on your mood.
Experienced spiritual growth through Lorde’s Melodrama.
Have a Notes app list of unreleased Lana songs.
Keep updated on your favorite pop girlies’ fan clubs (ex. Taylor Nation)
Have been told to “remain pure/innocent” at least five times in your life, and told to change your outfit/behavior to not stumble others in church

Specific Category:

Wrote an actual essay or long-winded Tumblr post about pop girl cultural impact.
Ran away from home or at least made plans to, due to a sheltered upbringing
Studied the rise and fall of the Tumblr Girl to TikTok Girl pipeline.
Top 1% of Taylor Swift listeners on Spotify (bonus if you’ve been top 0.05% more than once).
Made a playlist with a title like “dancing in my room like I’m in a coming-of-age movie.”
Listened to every Taylor’s Version vault track, and understood their cultural impact
Have a favorite DCC Cheerleader (mine is Kylie!)
Your idea of edgy is Taylor’s “Reputation” and Charli XCX’s “Brat”
Felt the rage of all your female ancestors upon hearing “Labor” by Paris Paloma
Follow the Taydaughters: Maisie Peters, Gracie Abrams, and Sabrina Carpenter
Related to Rupi Kaur’s “Milk & Honey”
Have a favorite Sofia Coppola movie (Marie Antoinette, The Virgin Suicides etc.)
Are subscribed to Mina Le and ModernGurlz
Have seen sorority tok (bonus if you did the “Sweet Escape” dance challenge)

So, how did you do?

SCORE:

6 – Inner white girl haver

7 – girlypop connoisseur,

8 – White Woman’s Instagram✨

9+ – White girl cultural historian

10+ – Official white girl empath

Thank you for reading! 💕