‘Rat girl summer’ is Gen Z’s latest obsession

Gen Z women are being encouraged to embrace their inner “rat energy” and take part in a “feral” new trend this summer.

Gen Z women are embracing the ‘rat girl summer’. Pictures: Meg Moon and saoirse_music__/TikTok

Forget Hot Girl Summer, Gen Z are now embracing ‘Rat Girl Summer’ instead.

The term hot girl summer’ came about in 2019 after rapper Megan Thee Stallion released a song of the same name.

“It’s just basically about women – and men – just being unapologetically them … You definitely have to be a person that can be the life of the party,” she said of the meaning of the term to The Root at the time.

But this summer Gen Z want a slightly different vibe. Instead of being ‘hot’ they want to embrace their rat energy.

While the term rat girl summer’ may be off-putting to some people, the concept is actually quite appealing.

First coined by TikTok creator Lola Kolade in early June, rat girl summer essentially encourages people to be outside in the warm weather, eating good food and not overthinking everything.

“We are having a rat girl summer OK? We are scurrying around the streets, we’re nibbling on our little snacks and generally finding ourselves in places we have no business being in. Embrace the rodent energy,” Lola told her followers.

The creator even came up with four rules for Gen Zers who want to live their rattiest summer possible, with the first being that you have to go outside.

“You cannot scurry in bed, you cannot scurry on your couch. You need to leave your home,” Lola proclaimed.

There are two days a week allotted for “decaying” when people can scroll on social media, binge watch their favourite shows and “rot in bed”.

“If I find out that you are rotting in bed for more than two days a week, I will be forced to pull up and beat your ass. Actions have consequences,” she said.

TikTok creator Lola Kolade first coined the term rat girl summer. Picture: Lola Kolade/TikTok

She even came up with a set of rules to follow. Picture: Lola Kolade/TikTok

“Nibbling on our little snacks” was the second rule. This means enjoying food, eating nourishing meals “so you can make mischief and mayhem” and not “starving yourself to be skinny for summer”

Number three is “killing the cringe”, in which people are told to go with their gut and ignore the part of them that might feel embarrassed about doing what they desire.

“Whatever your drive, your whimsy tells you that you want to do, follow that urge,” the TikToker said.

The final rule is no overthinking, with Lola telling viewers to always go with their gut.

“Do you think a rat thinks twice before stealing a slice of pizza and scurrying across the subway platform? No, we’re going with our gut, we’re going with our intuition,” she said.

The rat girl summer trend has taken off across social media, with young women sharing snippets of how they are embracing the “feral” new lifestyle.

Women are now embracing their ‘feral energy’. Picture: Meg Moon/TikTok

The trend has surged in popularity. Picture: saoirse_music__/TikTok

One video showed two women furiously eating nachos through the window of a car – a prime example of peak rat girl energy.

“Pov you pick up your girlfriend from a party but it’s feral rat girl summer and ur drunk friends start taking fist fulls of your nachos,” creator Meg Moon wrote.

Another TikToker, Saoirse, posted her and a group of friends riding in a boat at night and singing along to songs as another example of embracing rat girl summer.

“Me and the gang cruising our way through rat girl summer,” she wrote alongside the video.

‘Bed rotting’ is part of rat girl summer

As previously mentioned, part of rat girl summer is getting two allocated days a week to for “bed rotting”.

Bed rotting is the latest Gen Z self-care trend and involves young people spending huge chunks of the day in bed basically doing whatever activity they find the most relaxing.

For some people this is eating, binge watching TV shows, scrolling on social media, doing a skincare routine or just simply staring at the ceiling.

Now, while chilling out in bed definitely isn’t a new revelation, the key to a successful “bed rot” is that it is intentional and doesn’t come with any guilt attached.

A bed rot can last anywhere from a few hours to a whole weekend, depending on the level of rejuvenation required.

Gen Z is obsessed with ‘bed rotting’. Picture: @adelina99x/TikTok

The new trend is a form of self care. Picture: @horrible.glitter/TikTok

According to US digital magazine, Bustle, a true bed rot day is about “becoming one with your pillows”, rather than laying down for a quick nap.

“The goal is to lie in bed for as long as possible and fully give in to any mental or physical fatigue you might be experiencing,” the article stated.

On TikTok, hashtags like #inbedrotting and #rottinginbed have over four million views, with the term spiking in popularity after a video from user @g0bra77y.

“Who tf actually likes rotting in their bed?” she asked in the video from December last year, before gesturing to herself.

That clip alone has been viewed more than 1.4 million times, sparking hundreds of comments from fellow bed rotting fans.

“I feel my purpose in this life is to rot in dif places. My bed, hotel bed, beach sand, hammock etc. I was made to lay and rot,” one commenter wrote.

Another person described it as their “hobby” and “passion”.

“Me watching this while laying in bed everyday for the past two weeks Never felt so alive,” another said.