The girlfriend effect is making boys boring

The girlfriend effect is a trend on tiktok where they show how their boyfriends have changed since they started dating, deeming it the perfect glow up. The videos usually consist of a few photos of the man before the relationship, they are candid and taken on worse cameras highlighting how ‘bad’ his style was. The after photos follow all the influencer rules for a good photo. Some outline how they did it with steps in follow up videos.

And while it's pretty normal for people to look happy, healthier, and overall better in a good relationship, almost all of these boys' personal styles are completely eviscerated and replaced with their girlfriends style. The before photos often show an element of their personality, a glimpse into who he is. The after photos are beige.

On top of taking away their boyfriends personal style these influencers are buying into trends instead of a true glow up they're simply bringing their boyfriends up to the current. Buying into trends has a pandora's box of issues. But for the sake of this issue the most pressing one is that the glow up is only temporary and the girlfriend effect will be an infinite task of forcing your boyfriend into new styles.

Thankfully this isn't the only way girls change their boyfriends looks, some just inspire their boyfriends to look after themselves better, to improve grooming, to wear higher quality clothes, and to embrace their style in the best way.