what is girls like girls about
“Girls Like Girls” is now both a hit 2015 music video and a 2026 coming‑of‑age romantic drama film directed by Hayley Kiyoko, and lately most forum discussions and “latest news” are about the movie. At its core, it’s about a teenage girl falling in love with another girl while trying to understand herself and deal with grief.
What the story is actually about
The film (and the original song/video) centers on:
- Coley , a shy, 17‑year‑old who moves to a small Oregon town after her mother dies.
- Sonya , a vivid, popular girl who becomes the center of a local friend group.
- A summer‑long romance that starts as something ambiguous (friendship, obsession, longing) and slowly becomes a real, tender queer relationship.
Coley’s emotional life is shaped by two big things:
- Grief – her mother’s death, the “Mom’s Stuff” boxes in her room, her distance from her father.
- Self‑discovery – figuring out that she’s queer, that she wants to be with Sonya, and that she can accept those feelings even in a small, conservative town in 2006.
The title line from the song, “Girls like girls like boys do, nothing new,” is the thematic anchor: it’s a simple, direct statement that same‑sex attraction is normal and ordinary, not some exotic or shocking thing.
Where the idea came from
The story has a kind of legacy chain:
- Song – “Girls Like Girls” was released in 2015 as Hayley Kiyoko’s breakout single, explicitly about queer teen love.
- Music video – The video became a viral touchstone on Tumblr and in queer online spaces, showing two girls falling in love in a realistic, non‑fantasy way.
- Book – Kiyoko later wrote a YA novel called Girls Like Girls (2023), expanding the same story into prose.
- Film – The 2026 feature film is an adaptation of that novel (and by extension the song/video), with new music from Kiyoko and a fuller narrative.
For many fans, the film is the “full version” of the world they already loved in the video and book.
Why it’s trending now
As of summer 2026, “Girls Like Girls” is trending because:
- The movie premiered in theaters on June 19, 2026 , and hit streaming in early July 2026, so it’s fresh in conversation.
- It’s being discussed as one of the few mainstream sapphic teen romances with a clear, heartfelt focus on queer girls rather than trauma or tokenism.
- Hayley Kiyoko’s own story as a queer artist who spent years pushing for this kind of representation adds to the buzz; people see the film as the culmination of a decade‑long effort.
On forums and social media, threads often ask:
- “What is Girls Like Girls about?” (especially if you only know the song)
- “Is the movie good?” and “How does it compare to the video/book?”
- “Why is this suddenly everywhere?” (answers: new film release + long‑standing fandom).
Quick summary in one paragraph
Girls Like Girls is about Coley, a grieving teenager who moves to a small Oregon town and falls for Sonya, a charismatic local girl, over one summer in 2006. As they grow closer, Coley learns to accept that she’s queer and that loving Sonya is just as normal as any other first love, even as timing, fear, and social pressure complicate things. The story is a gentle, sun‑soaked exploration of grief, first love, and self‑acceptance, rooted in Hayley Kiyoko’s own experiences and her iconic 2015 song.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.