Pop Culture dictionary

girlfriend effect

girlfriend air [ gurl-frend ih-fekt ]

What does girlfriend effect mean?

The term girlfriend effect or girlfriend air refers to an alleged phenomenon during which a person becomes more fashionable and attractive after they get a girlfriend.

The term girlfriend effect is nearly always used to refer to men, but it is also sometimes used to refer to women who get girlfriends as well.

The term girlfriend effect is mostly used in a trend on TikTok. The trend typically contrasts pictures of a person before and after meeting their girlfriend or getting married. Typically, the person becomes more fashionable, attractive, or muscular after entering into a romantic relationship. Sometimes, the only actual difference is the person starts wearing clothing considered fashionable by TikTok users.

Related words

National Boyfriend Day, hot girl or hot guy, girl dinner, fashion week, 💑 Couple With Heart emoji

Where does girlfriend effect come from?

female sign over an upward graph

The term girlfriend effect combines the words girlfriend and effect. The term refers to the effect that having a girlfriend has on someone, namely that they become more attractive and fashionable.

Girlfriend effect seems to have emerged as a response to the older term boyfriend air. Boyfriend air refers to a supposed phenomenon during which women become less attractive or less concerned with their appearance after having a boyfriend for an extended period.

Around September 2023, a trend emerged in which TikTok users pointed out that girlfriend air or the girlfriend effect has the opposite effect on men: Men become more attractive or are more concerned with their appearance after gaining a girlfriend. As part of the trend, users share pictures of men taken before and after they get in a relationship. The trend allegedly proves that the girlfriend effect is real by demonstrating that men become more fashionable or attractive because they have a girlfriend.

@niklassz

glow up since I met him 🤓😂🤝🏼 #glowupeffect #relationship #couple #foryoupage #fypシ #relationshipgoals #niklasundgreta #glowup #girlfriendeffect @Greta Löckener

♬ greedy tate mcrae unreleased – babytatie

@manon.terles

ig @manon.terles🫶🏼🫶🏼 #couple #girlfriendeffect

♬ original sound – Aileenchristineee

Examples of girlfriend effect

girlfriend effect is real because it all starts with sunscreen and using facewash instead of washing your face in the shower with a bar of soap
@shlokapandey, October 10, 2023
Hundreds of couples on TikTok are showing off what they describe as the “girlfriend effect” — how men seem to upgrade their fashion sense under the influence of their girlfriends.
Angela Yang, NBC News, September 29, 2023

Who uses girlfriend effect?

The term girlfriend effect emerged as part of a TikTok trend, so it is most commonly used on that platform. However, the term is also used elsewhere to refer to men and sometimes women becoming more attractive and fashionable after getting girlfriends.

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Note

This is not meant to be a formal definition of girlfriend effect like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of girlfriend effect that will help our users expand their word mastery.