Rise of the ‘Rat Girl’

Ever get the urge to scurry around cities and fight the patriarchy with your grubby little hands? You might be a Rat Girl, according to TikTok.

“Rat Girl summer,” as the Washington Post defines it, is “a TikTok movement that emphasizes living like a rat: scurrying around the streets at all hours of the day and night, snacking to your heart’s delight, and going to places you have no business going to.” Some women use the label as an excuse for mischief, the Spectator reports. Women “forage” for food (steal) and live shamelessly (do whatever they feel like doing, regardless of the consequences). Rat Girl summer gives women license to be “completely selfish,” one tech worker told the Spectator: “As women, we are taught to cater to others’ feelings, and the rat girl concept rejects that and asks you to prioritize yourself.”