There's a hierarchy in the girl crush system: Different levels of girl crush.
1. Basic Level Girl Crush
You just appreciate this female's sweet and awesome existence and commend her on her beauty and kick-ass personality.
Personal Basic Level Girl Crushes: Anne Hathaway, Rihanna and Janelle Monae
2. "I Want to be Your Best Friend" Girl Crush
This is the girl crush that you feel an instant over-the-web/tabloid connection to. Something about her makes you want to have sleepovers with her, braid her hair and dissect all of her deepest, darkest secrets. Every fiber of your being knows that if, or when you ever run into her, an instant connection will form and a beautiful girl crush friendship will blossom.
Personal "I Want to be Your Best Friend" Girl Crushes: Jennifer Lawrence, the HAIM sisters, Mindy Kaling, Tavi Gevinson and Marina Diamandis
3. The "I Want to be You" Girl Crush
The end-all-be-all of girl crush hierarchy. You don't necessarily envy this female, you just want to be her. Everything she does you want to do. It's like a elementary school crush. You want to steal a piece of her hair and drink an everlasting polyjuice potion. There's just something about this woman that really speaks to you; she's an overall babe in your eyes (while you're wishing your eyes were her's).Personal "I Want to be You" Girl Crushes: Sky Ferreira and Alexa Chung.
Many honorary girl crushes couldn't fit under my personal basic level girl crush and "I want to be your best friend" girl crushes. But Sky and Alexa are for sure my only "I want to be you" girl crushes. You can't be wishy-washy with level three girl crushes. Those are definite and typically static, for if a female gained or lost her status of being a level three crush it's a big deal. It indicates that you're personally evolving as a women. You're changing what you admire and look for in other women and your personal characteristic goals.
Sky and Alexa (I think I'm on a first name basis with them), are my level three girl crushes because I really want to embody their cool it-girl aura. In my head I think I'm smart, a badass, chic and total babe. But in reality I'm consistently none of those things... that's okay. I'm not trying to be something or someone I'm not. I'm just trying to develop my own version of Sky and Alexa's mythical love child. I'm inspired by them and the other girl crushes I listed, and I'm trying to incorporate everything I admire about each female and internalize it.
4. The Ultimate Girl Crush
The most overlooked but highest level girl crush. Level four is when you gain girl crush status from another female. This is the dream of every girl crusher, to have other women be infatuated and appreciative of you. If I was given the ultimatum to either be a girl crush or be Sky, I would without a doubt choose being a girl crush. Being a girl crush is different than being a role model. When you're a girl crush your crushers accept you as a real woman, a flawed but simultaneously amazing women. Role models have the stigma of perfection and fall under daily scrutiny. Role models crash and burn, girl crushes are forever.
(I do not own any of these photos)
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By: Sarah Weingarten