This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s spring editorial intern Maya Stokley. Find her on Instagram at @maya.aesthetic. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
“God forbid a girl has hobbies” is one of the most popular trends on TikTok and social media! Most avid woman TikTokers post about their favorite game, book, TV show, or movie that most people would frown upon. For example, Love and Deepspace is still rising up the ranks as the top romance game among women. However, some male gamers online criticize the game on their YouTube channels and Twitch about how women are fawning over the men. Another example is women creating edits on TikTok about their favorite movie, and some of the commenters are criticizing them there too! Honestly, the time has come! Enough is enough!
Come On! God Forbid A Girl Has Hobbies For Real?!
So, why are there so many people judging women for having hobbies? What happened to everyone having their own personalities and interests? Science has proven that hobbies can:
- Reduce stress levels
- Improve your mental capabilitues
- Improve creativity
- Build confidence
- Strengthen your wellbeing and more!
Since when was being happy a negative? Well, the haters can keep hating. Let’s add more hobbies to the list!
Reading Romance Books
This is the top hobby of almost all women who love romance! Reading romance books helps women escape into the narrative with the main characters, the plot, the setting, side characters, and the romantic interest. Studies show that reading romance novels can improve empathy, reading comprehension, and emotional intelligence. Even though some books can be questionable regarding plot and dialogue (I will not reveal names), it is still a fictional setting.
Here are a few benefits for reading romance novels:
- Improve on communication abilities
- Exploring intimacy
- Expanding insight on different types of relationships
- Exploring your love language
- Boosting overall mood
Also, watching romance movies is an understandable hobby! Watching romance movies has the same benefits as reading them, but the visual aspect immerses you. For example, say you are watching a romance movie and see yourself as the main character. The characteristics can be physical, like the same hair color, or emotional, both have a history of bad relationships. Because you can visually see the book play out, more people enjoy it! Here are a few romance books to movie adaptations to add to your list:
Going to Concerts
Going to concerts is one of the most exciting hobbies one can have! From going to Kpop concerts like ATEEZ and Stray Kidz to pop concerts like Beyonce, Sabrina Carpenter, and Ariana Grande, one can go to any concert and enjoy their money well spent. For instance, say you are at your favorite artist’s concert for the very first time. The lights and the stage complement one another. You are in your best outfit along with the rest of the crowd. As soon as the lights dim, you see the silhouette of your favorite artists. That adrenaline and excitement are what bring so many people together! So yes, going to concerts is a wonderful hobby. A few benefits of going to concerts are:
- Strengthening social engagement
- Burning calories
- Relaxing
- Connecting with the artist emotionally and mentally
It is such a good time, why would anyone judge someone for enjoying their time? So here are a few concerts that are happening this summer to add to your concert list:
Experimenting With Cooking
Cooking is a creative outlet many people use to relax and explore different cuisines! For example, you can start to look into the hobby by trying out dishes from your favorite cuisines like Japanese, Mediterranean, Indian, French, or Spanish! For example, say you are in your home on a hot summer day. You don’t have work and you are feeling a little bit hungry. So? You whip out your cooking supplies and start researching what food you want to try because there are no stakes! Cooking is a splendid hobby! Furthermore, cooking allows you to explore the form of expression and discover how taste can relate to happiness! The benefits of cooking as a hobby are:
- Improving your own health
- Brain stimulation
- Releases stress
- Developing the cooking skill
- Expanding your knowledge about food science
If anyone shames you for trying cooking as a hobby, no need to fret with the enemy! Here are a few recipes that you can try to launch your cooking hobby:
Trying Outdoor Activities
Now, this TikTok is crazy! Of course, women can fish! Like, honestly, this trend is so real because god forbid a girl has hobbies! Anyways, trying out outdoor activities is one of the most rewarding hobbies. For example, say you are looking for something to do over the weekend in your town or city. What if there is a park nearby? Or a hiking trail? Or even better, a camping ground? You can use that opportunity to explore the natural world around you! And yes, fishing is a valuable hobby! Here are a few benefits of trying out outdoor activities:
- Improve fitness
- Increase Vitamin D Intake
- Improve sleep
- Engage critical thinking skills
- Learning navigation
- Building physical strength
Also, natural hobbies do not have to take place in a forest! You can visit the beach and try surfing or collecting seashells. You can visit a lake and try canoeing. Or, you can go to a mountain range and explore mountain climbing cautiously! The natural world is at our disposal, so yes, we can use it as one of our hobbies!
The “God forbid a girl has hobbies” trend sheds light on how women are judged upon what they like to do in their free time. However, women are taking the criticism and turning it into something positive by creating this trend to spread awareness and give comfort. Even better, the trend has become even more popular outside of TikTok by influencers posting it on Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter). To me, that is a hobby all within itself and nothing less!
What are some hobbies that you would add to this list? Share in the comments!
Leave a Reply