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35 “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” Things Women Used To Do, Thinking It Made Them So Cool And Mysterious
Interview
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
@amylovattt #manicpixiedreamgirl #stitchthis #fyp #iwanttoknow ♬ original sound - Amy Lovatt
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#1
Bubbles in my purse when I would try to stop smoking, so I would take bubble breaks.
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.
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#2
I would drop pennies as I walked so people could find them and have good luck.
La Petite Morte 1 year ago
That's a really sweet & cool reason. Trying to spread a little magic into the world isn't a bad thing.
#4
I would wear thrift store clothes and tell people it was because “I like wearing other people’s stories on me.” *HEAVES*
DennyS (denzoren) 1 year ago
Lol I like buying used books because I like that they have been on a journey before and hopefully when I die I'll pass it on to someone else and so on.
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)
#6
My best friend would bring a lemon to every party and very casually eat it.
La Petite Morte 1 year ago (edited)
Ok, this is an important question: would they eat the rind too?
#7
I’d take my journal everywhere to write down funny moments and quotes I wanted to remember. Now I’m a journalist
“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'
La Petite Morte 1 year ago
That's just fun to do, as long as you don't get caught & it's not snowing.
#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
La Petite Morte 1 year ago
We all drew on/decorated our Converse or Docs in the 80's/90's. Hell, I had a minor side business in HS painting combat boots for my classmates. My own were painted white & covered in literary quotes. It's just being artistic & bored in class.
#10
Used to research unknown bands with terrible music and know just enough about them to seem indie and mysterious.
#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
#12
l used to take books to parties and read while drinking wine while my friends were normal college kids and partied accordingly.
La Petite Morte 1 year ago
I did this, but mostly bc the book was usually more interesting than the conversation. Sometimes I'd get into great conversations with others about the book, the author, or the genre. Got turned on to some great books like that.
#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
Onion Patch Petunia 1 year ago
I have a problem relating to this. I used to carry a Mickey mouse lunch box!
#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.
Satan Laughs 1 year ago
“Celebrate Oblivion,” was what was written on my Converse. Sharpie held up nicely. Ball-point pens always smeared. No one took me aside, hence the resulting poor life choices which followed, including my Panda name. I would have probably complimented you in class.
#15
Use something overly utilitarian as purse: lunch box, old camera case, thermos, basket.
Satan Laughs 1 year ago
I hated how the lunch box never really fit in my Jansport backpacks. 😺
#17
I had “more energy” on days where I felt like it would rain because it was “more beautiful than sunshine”.
La Petite Morte 1 year ago
There's actually science that backs this up. Like natural circadian rhythms, there are people that naturally feel 'more energized' when the weather/ time of day corresponds with what they find the most soothing or comforting. It's why you have night owls, morning people, solar babies, people who feel the most like themselves during a certain season or during certain weather, etc. It has to do with what gives you serotonin, which is part biology & part personality. ~~ Personally, I'm very much a night owl, my sleep cycle naturally shifts to me being awake at night & asleep during the day if not forced into 'normality' by work or school. I'm also happier during the summer & autumn. And I like rain. Good book reading weather.
#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.
#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.
#20
Wore an Elvis Presley T-shirt with an Aladdin looking vest and drank rain water out of mason jars.
#21
I strung individual faux pearls onto my actual hair (this was when feather hair extensions were popular) but I did pearls because I was different
#22
Wore coloured contacts everywhere and stared at people like this until they noticed.
#24
I would read in public but actively try to ~look mysterious~ and wait for people to ask me what I was reading (they never did)
#25
I remember laying in the grass while drunk to feel wild and free and it was just in a weird spot to do so and my friend was like “uh can you get up?”
#26
... I only dated people for a month, and in that month I would make sure I changed their life by enrolling them in school or getting them a job...
#28
I would just like quote Clementine from eternal sunshine and pretend it was my own thoughts.
#29
Does reading while walking down the halls at school and running a library out of my locker count?
La Petite Morte 1 year ago
If you've never said 'Excuse me!' to a lamppost or barked your shins on a fire hydrant you're not reading enough.
#30
I would doodle on my backpack and write song lyrics on everything and when people asked what they're from I'd be like 'you haven't heard of them...'
#31
Project my internalised misogyny on every other women I met.
#32
Embroidered the knees on my jeans with flowers. Writing my journal CONSTANTLY. Nothing more dull than a tween stream of consciousness.
La Petite Morte 1 year ago
Embroidery is an awesome skill that can create some amazing works of art, & writing is another good skill to have & practice.
#33
I pretended I snorted when I laughed! I ONLY read ~classics~ in high school. I did go on to get a lit degree so ig I'm still living the dream
#34
i used to stick a guitar pick in my hair clip/barrette so people would know i was a musician
Red 1 year ago
No picks for singers, unfortunately, so when I started singing in bands I developed habit of singing everywhere, all the time time, like the Disney princess I am, and get super embarrassed when people pointed out how good I was. I don't deal well with compliments, so I wasn't really pretending, but the habit of singing stuck with me and I learned to deal with people pointing out. Now when people compliment my singing skills I'm like thank you, I'm a singer. It's true we live for the applause.
#35
I went to school with a girl who made a huge deal about being scared of stickers
What do you think ?
Roman Hans 1 year ago (edited)
I don't get the embarrassment here. Creativity is great! And -- shocker! -- teenagers aren't exactly design professionals. The attitude shown here is far worse: used clothes are from "old dead men"? I buy a lot of used clothes & there's never been a death certificate attached. In more than a few of these, I like the BEFORE person better than the AFTER.
MP 1 year ago
You’re missing the point. They aren’t just being creative, they’re seeking attention for being “different” and not out of genuine fulfillment. Also that OP isn’t saying all thrift clothes are from old dead men. She’s saying she TOLD people she was wearing the jacket of old dead men because she thought she’d get positive attention for being so unique and different.
Load More Replies...
CT 1 year ago (edited)
The list of weird things I've worn or done is so long since early childhood, I wouldn't know where to start. Mismatched shoes, or walking barefoot all the time, wearing 6 different socks at the same time, a suspender belt over jeans, all possible hair accessories (even shoelaces or clothes pegs), umbrella when it's not raining, painting on the face, wearing 6 watches on one arm and 2 around the neck, bracelets up to the elbow, etc. etc. etc. but I was not the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl", just the weird eccentric girl. But that didn't stop me, I'm almost 36 years old, I regularly repaint my shoes, my hair is green, I put big fake flowers in it,...
PeridotPlatypus377 1 year ago
I’m sorry, I still haven’t got it quite figured out. everyone on this was just going through a common phase that many kids/teens/young adults do and don’t really stand out as unusual. As a result I still don’t understand what exactly a “manic pixie dream girl” could anyone please tell me what that is and how it applies here?
Load More Replies...
MP 1 year ago
There’s several layers to this. For one, Pandas don’t get it because most of the people here are Manic Pixie Dreamgirls and still in the phase. That’s why all the comments are like “oh me too! That’s so cool! How quirky was your feathered ukulele? What book did you read? 🤩🤩” Because lots of people here are trying extra hard to be quirky and different. Second layer, people are missing that the OPs are saying that they specifically were doing this for attention and not because they genuinely enjoyed it. Which I think most pandas won’t admit. Third layer though, is that we need to kind of lighten up about what women and girls are doing for the “male gaze.” There’s technically nothing inherently wrong about women / people doing things for male attention if that’s what makes them happy or confident or attract a partner. All of this s**t is cringy and lame but at the same time, some guys like that cringy quirky s**t, and if women want to date those guys, so be it.
Roman Hans 1 year ago (edited)
I don't get the embarrassment here. Creativity is great! And -- shocker! -- teenagers aren't exactly design professionals. The attitude shown here is far worse: used clothes are from "old dead men"? I buy a lot of used clothes & there's never been a death certificate attached. In more than a few of these, I like the BEFORE person better than the AFTER.
MP 1 year ago
You’re missing the point. They aren’t just being creative, they’re seeking attention for being “different” and not out of genuine fulfillment. Also that OP isn’t saying all thrift clothes are from old dead men. She’s saying she TOLD people she was wearing the jacket of old dead men because she thought she’d get positive attention for being so unique and different.
Load More Replies... CT 1 year ago (edited)
The list of weird things I've worn or done is so long since early childhood, I wouldn't know where to start. Mismatched shoes, or walking barefoot all the time, wearing 6 different socks at the same time, a suspender belt over jeans, all possible hair accessories (even shoelaces or clothes pegs), umbrella when it's not raining, painting on the face, wearing 6 watches on one arm and 2 around the neck, bracelets up to the elbow, etc. etc. etc. but I was not the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl", just the weird eccentric girl. But that didn't stop me, I'm almost 36 years old, I regularly repaint my shoes, my hair is green, I put big fake flowers in it,...
PeridotPlatypus377 1 year ago
I’m sorry, I still haven’t got it quite figured out. everyone on this was just going through a common phase that many kids/teens/young adults do and don’t really stand out as unusual. As a result I still don’t understand what exactly a “manic pixie dream girl” could anyone please tell me what that is and how it applies here?
Load More Replies... MP 1 year ago
There’s several layers to this. For one, Pandas don’t get it because most of the people here are Manic Pixie Dreamgirls and still in the phase. That’s why all the comments are like “oh me too! That’s so cool! How quirky was your feathered ukulele? What book did you read? 🤩🤩” Because lots of people here are trying extra hard to be quirky and different. Second layer, people are missing that the OPs are saying that they specifically were doing this for attention and not because they genuinely enjoyed it. Which I think most pandas won’t admit. Third layer though, is that we need to kind of lighten up about what women and girls are doing for the “male gaze.” There’s technically nothing inherently wrong about women / people doing things for male attention if that’s what makes them happy or confident or attract a partner. All of this s**t is cringy and lame but at the same time, some guys like that cringy quirky s**t, and if women want to date those guys, so be it.
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