Four movies about girlhood
Last updated: February 12, 2026
Girlhood is a spectrum that many may think ends with adolescence, but it stays with you for the rest of your life. Learning new things about girlhood is part of it and in these four movies young girls and women do just that.
Whether you’ve lived through it or have never felt a resemblance to girlhood, these movies will give you an insight of the different trials and tribulations that come with it.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
11-year-old Margaret’s whole world changes when she moves from the city to the suburbs. On the cusp of adolescence she joins a secret club some girls from her new school have made up. The club is all about growing up and puberty, for example one rule being that the girls have to tell each other if they’ve gotten their periods. They also talk about boys they like and perform exercises to increase their busts. But Margaret starts feeling pressured by the club rules that force them to grow up faster than she’s ready for.
The movie, based on the book with the same name, explores girlhood and its beginnings in adolescence. The pressures young girls can feel from their peers to grow up too fast and the discomfort of their bodies suddenly changing.
Booksmart
Graduation is around the corner for the two best friends Amy and Molly. Having spent all of high school studying without going to any parties they feel proud of the colleges they may get into. But when they learn that all the jocks and bimbos have just as good grades as they do, without having to have sacrificed the high school experience, their worldview gets crushed. There is going to be one last party before graduation and this time they will not miss it. But what starts out as a night for fun soon puts their friendship to the test through different trials.
Booksmart is a girlhood movie about friendship and how relationships evolve and grow as we go through different stages of life, like the transition from high school to college.
On the topic of growing up and going to college here you can read more about Top 5 Best College Movies of All Time
Lady Bird
All Lady Bird wants to do after high school is move away from California to the more cultured East Coast. But her mother thinks she won’t get into the schools over there and is very vocal about her low expectations of her daughter. A drift starts between the two as Lady Bird tries to navigate new relationships while simultaneously pushing away others, like her best friend Julie.
Lady Bird explores both female friendships as well as daughters' relationships with their mothers while growing up. The codependency despite all the screaming matches with their mum is a big part of girlhood and is perfectly depicted in this coming-of-age story.
Unpregnant
When 17-year-old Veronica gets pregnant she knows it’s going to ruin her life before it even begins. Without telling her boyfriend or letting her parents know she decides to get an abortion, but to do it without their consent she needs to cross state lines. She knows she can’t tell her friends about it either so she reaches out to the only other person she knows with a car, her ex-best friend Bailey. Luckily Bailey agrees and the two distant friends go on a road trip full of twists and turns that make them finally confront their original falling out.
Friends falling out because of societal expectations, especially in school, is a big part of girlhood. Trying to grow up and fit in sometimes tears relationships apart and it’s beautifully depicted in this buddy comedy drama.
