girl in red (stylized in all lowercase) is the indie pop music project of Norwegian singer-songwriter and record producer Marie Ulven Ringheim. The track, “i wanna be your girlfriend” isn’t new by any means, but the song is so catchy, and necessary, we wanted to put it back in the spotlight this week. girl in red takes us through the sentiments that the song’s title implies. Ringhem laments on her relationship with her friend, “Hannah,” who she has fallen in love with while Hannah is unaware of this.
The song is a tender confessional for the persona who reveals the details of her unrequited love, further complicated by the stigma and lack of normalized awareness of homosexuality. The description to the song on girl in red’s bandcamp is simple and serves as warning of some sorts: “don’t fall in love with a straight girl.”
In addition to her fame as a musician, she has also become a famous meme. According to NPR:
“‘Do you listen to girl in red?’ It’s a question that means more than you think – it became a coded way for women on social media to ask each other if they’re queer.”
So whether you need a flashback of some fun queer pop, or you want a fun new way to ask if your crush is into girls, we have the solution for you: girl in red.