The Summer I Turned Pretty & the Soft Power of Femininity

If you're like me, you've been eagerly awaiting new episodes of The Summer I Turned Pretty every Wednesday. Each week when Wednesday rolls around, I cozy up with a snack and a drink and watch as I try to figure out how on EARTH this story plays out. And if you're not watching, let me catch you up.

The Summer I Turned Pretty follows a girl named Belly (Isabelle) Conklin, and the romance that brews between her and one of her childhood best friends...and his brother. Yes you read that right. Belly grows up being in love with one brother, Conrad, but when he breaks her heart, she runs into the arms of his younger brother Jeremiah. This season has followed them all as she and Jeremiah get engaged and plan to start their lives together. All while Conrad is still in love with Belly, and she is still in love with him.

If it sounds complicated, that's because it is. And for the sake of this post, we actually won't be talking too much about the actual plot of the show. Because at this rate, the only people I'm rooting for are Steven and Taylor (iykyk).

Today, I want to take a deeper look into Belly's personal expression of femininity. And how themes of femininity and blossoming womanhood are woven throughout the show.

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Beneath the youthful gen-z slang, music and dancing that occurs throughout the show, Belly is actually the textbook definition of a traditionally feminine girl. More than anything else, she desires love (from Conrad), she fights for home and family, she even goes so far as to get engaged at a very young age. We see her bloom beautifully throughout the seasons from wearing oversized t-shirts and shorts with her hair pulled back, to dresses, skirts and beautiful, blown out hair.

I've seen it argued that this change in her style is attributed to whichever brother she's dating at the time. That her new style of wearing dresses and jewelry is a reflection of her changing to fit Jeremiah's type. But I beg to differ. I think her change in style is just a representation of the maturation that naturally occurs between high school and college.

As women, those years are so formative. We go from being children, to being young adults. And that change is often reflected in our style and how we present ourselves to the world. We can clearly see this shift from season one to season two, where Belly even starts using her newfound femininity and sex appeal to get what she wants - like in the scene at the gas station. And again from season two, to season three.

Belly's style changes and evolves as she changes and evolves. She's no longer the annoying tag along little sister - but she's a woman. And a beautiful one.

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But Belly's femininity isn't just in her new look - it's in what she cares about. Her relationships, her family, and romantic love. Her femininity is embodied, not superficial. It's in the way she fought to keep Susannah's house and memory alive - even if it meant putting herself in uncomfortable situations. It's in the way she allows herself to show her emotions and be completely vulnerable no matter who is watching. It's in the way she so freely accepts her desire to be loved, even when it gets a little messy.

Belly embodies the feminine desire to be chosen. Specifically, chosen by the one she loves. And to be loved by him in return. And for some reason, the cultural rhetoric surrounding her desire isn't that she's a "pick-me". But that she's a lover-girl, a romantic at heart. And many women can relate to that longing and that yearning. We talk so much about Conrad's yearning, but we rarely talk about Belly's. This girl has been longing for the same man for her entire life, unapologetically. Something I'm sure many of us can relate to. We may not have grown up alongside our crush for years and years, but we've all experienced that longing. That desire. The stolen glances, the moments that feel like they were taken out of a romance novel, the And while it's often looked at as desperate or pathetic in real life - we're watching that longing on Belly and rooting for her. Rooting for them.

More than anything, Belly shows us that femininity isn't about pleasing others—it’s about allowing yourself to long for love without shame. It’s about staying tender even when the world tells you to be tough.

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It’s no wonder so many women see themselves in Belly. Her softness, her desire to be loved, her emotional honesty — these are not weaknesses, but quiet strengths that carry her through the emotional storms of adolescence and early adulthood. In a world that often tells women to "be strong" in ways that erase our sensitivity, Belly reminds us that there is power in remaining open. In yearning. In choosing love, even when it’s not guaranteed to be returned.

Through her, we’re reminded that femininity isn’t about perfection — it’s about becoming. About shifting, blooming, stumbling, and trying again. It’s about holding onto hope even when things feel uncertain. And maybe that’s what makes her story so captivating. Because underneath the summer romances, the beach house drama, and the love triangle tension, The Summer I Turned Pretty is really about a girl finding the courage to feel deeply, to grow up, and to step fully into who she’s becoming.

And isn’t that what all of us are trying to do, in our own way?

I'm excited to see how this story plays out, and I'm excited to see where Belly's life takes her.