“Young Hos” TikTok Trend Bares Deeper Connotations

Young women on TikTok are making videos describing ways they make things easier for themselves and then calling themselves “Young hos.” This trend was inspired by a tweet in December 2025 on X when user @Bean____1 posted “Young hos cook everything on high” in mockery of young women cooking a recipe on high heat rather than leaving it simmer on low heat. This implies that Gen Z women are too lazy to cook and lack the skill for it.

However, Gen Z women are turning this mockery into something positive. Shortcuts to making things easier, such as cooking food quicker, throwing clothes into the laundry instead of sorting them out, or even sleeping with a bunch of stuff on the bed, show relatability. This trend turned into a humorous bond, and more girls and women started sharing their own version of things they do that make them a “young ho.”

In our society, young women are demeaned for their “laziness” and young men are excused for being “immature” or “carefree,” hence the term, “boys will be boys.” What if being “lazy” doesn’t have to be a bad thing, but instead is efficient?

Young hos are considered to be ages 18-29. However, teenagers are joining in on the trend to show that they can be young hos too. Teenagers have extracurriculars, social lives, work, and a lot more to figure out. The “proper” way of doing things won’t always leave time for teens to prioritize their needs. Students at John F. Kennedy High describe some “young ho” things they do outside of school.

Alanna Pondler, a senior, stated, “I cook on high… Whenever I drive, I go straight to the left lane.” The left lane is the fast lane, meaning when you want to arrive at a destination faster, you use the left lane. Pondler also mentioned she does her homework during work breaks. “On Shein, I get the handmade press-on nails, and they’re really good quality because they’re made out of acrylic…the designs they have on Shein are the same ones they have in the salon,” Aniyiah Booker, a junior, said. Salon nails are more expensive than press on nails. Looking put-together doesn’t always mean you have to buy things at extravagant prices.

“I would use my lipstick for blush and use it as eyeshadow…I would use one lipstick that is red-ish that goes with everything and it actually looks good,” said Zahra Mohammed (12).

Expectations are always put on young women and continue to add up as time passes. Teenage girls are prone to feeling social pressure to have good grades and look presentable. Historically, women were subjected to only taking care of the home, children and cooking. When more women started joining the workforce, they were expected to perform on the same level as men. There’s a name for this called “The Second Shift.” It is still prevalent today as women still experience this. So what does this all mean? Women are more vulnerable to higher standards than males are. If a woman is not doing things the “right” way or the way things society expects them to, she is shamed or degraded.

The same way the word bimbo is used to slam women for their attractiveness, low intelligence, and promiscuity, himbo uses the same description for men but adds positive traits to it, such as “kind,” “gentleman,” or the “golden retriever” type. This is a double standard that connects to the derogatory meaning of “young ho,” but was then reclaimed by young women as empowerment. However, being a young ho isn't exclusive to just women. While demeaned for their “laziness” and life hacks, men realized the things women were shamed for related to them as well. A term that was used to belittle evolved into a shared term that challenges double standards and unifies both men and women. “As a grown man, I might just be a young ho,” one commenter wrote.