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Gen Z women are shamelessly admitting to being the “weekend lovers” of men who will happily hook up with them — but who won’t give them the time of day outside Saturday night.
In one of the worst new TikTok trends, young women are posting melancholy videos of themselves to the tune of Prince’s “Purple Rain,” as he sings, “I never wanted to be your weekend lover.”
Some are sharing insulting texts from men and posting surreptitious photos of their hookup partners’ backs as they sleep. Others share videos of themselves taking a walk of shame.
“A weekend lover is all I’ve ever been to anyone,” one young woman wrote in the video caption as she looked forlornly into the camera, sitting in her pajamas.
It’s a sad reflection of just how debased young women today can feel when it comes to relationships. Blame it on dating apps, which have turned people into commodities — and convinced men in particular that a better, hotter potential partner is just a swipe away. Why settle?
Social media, meanwhile, encourages women to broadcast their side-piece woe to the world as though it’s a fact of life and not a sign of low self-esteem.
“I thought I could make him like me, and [I know] that’s how the girls in my comments feel,” one girl declared.
Some are even sharing the humiliating texts they’ve received from men.
“Sam I’m so insanely in love with you but the thought of other people knowing makes me stupid embarrassed,” reads the text of one screenshot. “Can you come over [tonight] though?”
Another young woman was called the wrong name, then received a Snapchat message reading, “Oh wrong girl.”
The dynamic imbalance is blatantly clear: images of young women on the brink of tears contrasted with the blasé texts and unbothered expressions of guys who want little to do with them outside of Saturday night.
Girls have been taught that casual sex is perfectly good for them, as though they are no different from the boys they’re sleeping with. But this is not the case.
They’re learning the hard way that being a “weekend lover” takes a far more profound toll on the typical young woman than the typical young man.
The situationship dynamic — stuck somewhere between a hookup and a relationship — so common on campuses and in twentysomething life is eating away at young women.
One TikTokker even said that her weekend lover blocks her phone number until the weekend, complaining about having a “green message bubble until Friday.”
There are a few voices of common sense encouraging girls to to advocate for themselves — or just stop participating in — relationships that don’t satisfy their needs.
“Why are you voluntarily advertising that you are his side piece? And you think him seeing that is going to make him be like … I should make her my girlfriend,” TikToker Ashley LaMarca said. “If you want a man to respect you, following that trend is not it.”
“I would rather eat a pair of jeans than post the weekend lover trend,” a TikToker named Alice added. “Why would you have a digital footprint of that?”
She’s right. Gen Z women have been conditioned to overshare for the social media clout, but this trend is downright embarrassing for girls stuck in the murk of undefined relationships and allowing themselves to be disrespected because they fear speaking up for themselves.
