CuriositiesMAR 27, 2023

35 “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” Things Women Used To Do, Thinking It Made Them So Cool And Mysterious

Mindaugas Balčiauskas and Liucija Adomaite

A Manic Pixie Dream Girl is defined as a female character who's "quirky" and "unusual" but really exists only for the development of the male lead. Think of a female damsel in distress that film critics argue is edgy and fun at best and a cliché or even a sexist stereotype, at worst.

Recently, the term resurfaced again after TikToker Amy Lovatt asked everyone to share "the most Manic Pixie Dream Girl thing" they used to do.

Hers was bringing a trifle (a particular dessert) whenever she’d go to a party. “It was like, look at me, I am so quirky,” Amy recounted in her viral video.

More people joined the trend to share their own MPDG moments and it’s both hilarious and somewhat painfully relatable.

Image credits: amylovattt

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35 “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” Things Women Used To Do, Thinking It Made Them So Cool And Mysterious

Bubbles in my purse when I would try to stop smoking, so I would take bubble breaks.

beetledoot, Flickr

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152points

To find out more about the significance of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl character, we reached out to Lauren McMenemy, a writer, a journalist, and marketer dedicated to running workshops and training to help people get their words down right. Lauren was happy to share some insights into the topic.

Lauren told us that there was a time when the Manic Pixie Dream Girl was everywhere, especially in the indie scene. “Heck, I idolized those girls on screen: Natalie Portman in Garden State, Zooey Deschanel in literally everything. I did the '50s dresses with Converse trainers. I did the black-rimmed glasses and had (still have) a fringe (or bangs for our American friends),” Lauren recounted.

#2

I would drop pennies as I walked so people could find them and have good luck.

magpiemakingmusic, Jared Polin

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137points

#3

I'd read books, but up in a tree *so mysterious*

bookiesncookies, Pixabay

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121points

#4

I would wear thrift store clothes and tell people it was because “I like wearing other people’s stories on me.” *HEAVES*

droogette, Becca McHaffie Avatar of user Becca McHaffie Becca McHaffie beccamchaffie

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113points

She said she used to call herself quirky, just like many girls out there. “I met my now-husband on a dating site under the username 'QuirkyWriter' - and I still do. Because to me, and to many women out there, these aren't tropes but aspects of our personality.”

Lauren explained that the issue with the Manic Pixie Dream Girl is the way these characters are handled by the writer, who is inevitably a "sensitive" man.

“It was film critic Nathan Rabin who, when referring to Kirsten Dunst's character in Elizabethtown, said the Manic Pixie Dream Girl ‘exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures.’”

#5

I wore fairy wings to class a lot and wore vintage ball gowns to punk shows (those poor dresses)

ohkathrynmoon, Daniel Kempe

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108points

#6

My best friend would bring a lemon to every party and very casually eat it.

youarenotinwonderland, Nothing Ahead

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108points

#7

I’d take my journal everywhere to write down funny moments and quotes I wanted to remember. Now I’m a journalist

lornsassij

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106points

“At that point, the quirky girls ceased to just be quirky girls and suddenly became tropes and white male fantasies. This problem isn't just confined to the MPDG; it's the problem with any two-dimensional character in any story who serves to provide important life lessons to the protagonist while having no discernible inner life. They're just a plot device.”

Lauren believes that the same is true when this carries over to young girls finding who they are. “If they only have Garden State's Sam, they're going to focus on looking right and having some weird quirk and being available to interested, sensitive men. But if they have Clementine in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, or they have Summer in 500 Days of Summer, then they'll at least meet MPDGs who have flaws and seem more real to anyone who's not the sensitive male soul attracted to them,” she explained.

#8

What didn't I do? I used to take my shoes off and splash in every fountain I saw because I was 'living in the moment'

mollystanley7

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94points

#9

I drew on my converse to show that I was artistic and quirky I also stood pigeon toed so that you could recognize I wasn't like other girls hehe

icamefortwilight, James Davies

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88points

#10

Used to research unknown bands with terrible music and know just enough about them to seem indie and mysterious.

kikiandthebrain, Thibault Trillet

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87points

#11

i bought a bunch of miniature people like the tiny ones for model train sets and would give them out randomly to ppl with no explanation

rodeorodent

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85points

#12

l used to take books to parties and read while drinking wine while my friends were normal college kids and partied accordingly.

amylovattt, Ingrid Santana

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83points

#13

I would wear a mini skirt and knee high leather boots, and carry a hiking backpack to parties. What was in the backpack? That was the mystery

mommatribe, Isabela Kronemberger

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79points

#14

Wrote “die young” on the heels of my converse in 8th grade then had a teacher pull me aside to ask if everything was ok at home.

idonthaveatiktoksorry

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79points

#15

Use something overly utilitarian as purse: lunch box, old camera case, thermos, basket.

jjstewart1076, Marc Mueller

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74points

#16

Prom dresses and combat boots

tarynlovejoy

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72points

#17

I had “more energy” on days where I felt like it would rain because it was “more beautiful than sunshine”.

amylovattt, Erik Witsoe

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71points

#18

I would wear 2-3 cereal box watches at once and put flowers in my docs and tell people I knew how to palm read when I couldnt I'd just make it up.

hotistic, Mike Mozart

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64points

#19

I used to carry 5+ apples in my bag at all times so I could give them out to people. I also had a month in 2006 where I wore roller skates everywhere.

pommepommebananeanana

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63points

#20

Wore an Elvis Presley T-shirt with an Aladdin looking vest and drank rain water out of mason jars.

courtabel

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62points