As you walk on red leaves scattered across the ground holding a pumpkin spice latte, these fall signifiers announce the shift from “Hot Girl Summer” to “Christian Girl Autumn.”
“Autumnal” describes characteristics attributed to autumn. On a surface level, autumnal signs are grounded in the season itself. When stepping outside, notice the fall equinox giving the moon a golden hue while tree leaves go from green to red and harvested pumpkins appearing on doorsteps. These natural signs organically become signifiers because they’re rooted in autumn’s reality.
Other fall signs have little connection to the earth’s trip around the sun. What signifies autumn has shifted from natural to manufactured as signifiers become rooted in consumerism. For example, some non-natural signs that come to mind are plastic decorations, seasonal drinks, and various online trends.
As postmodern philosopher Jean Baudrillard theorizes in Simulacra and Simulation, his essay that examines how consumerism affects signs, there are four phases that demonstrate how signs depart from reality.
The first phase reflects reality. Picture a pumpkin patch. Pumpkins naturally signify fall because they ripen by early autumn. The second phase distorts that reflection of reality, making the pumpkin a pumpkin pie. However, the third phase pretends like reality hasn’t been distorted, transforming the pumpkin into a pumpkin spice latte. The final phase is a hyperreal simulation, like creating a plastic copy of a real pumpkin then selling it in stores.
These simulated representations of natural signs have little relation to reality, becoming copies with no reality whatsoever.
Our culture has shifted autumnal signifiers away from true natural emblems of the season, falling down the path of consumerism Baudrillard warns us about.
Most obviously, fall arrives at HomeSense by late July to surround consumers with overpriced AI-generated decor, artificial floral arrangements, and plastic copies of pumpkins. The store’s dry air is almost like autumn’s crisp breeze.
Of course, there’s enough mugs on the shelves for every autumn enthusiast to drink their simulacra coffee that’s topped off with a blend of spices that contain no actual pumpkin. When aimlessly walking through their aisles, customers experience pure simulation while exploring cheap copies of nature’s beauty.
Or take a look at Starbucks’ iconic pumpkin spice latte. When the coffee chain’s ever-popular seasonal fall menu hit the stores on Aug. 25, Starbucks saw its largest received fall launch across North America ever, shifting cultural perceptions of when autumn starts.
The quintessential fall drink was released almost a month before the official first day of autumn, which is Sept. 22 on the autumnal equinox. A current sign of the changing seasons, the pumpkin spice latte is available to consumers months before the pumpkin the drink is based on is even ready to harvest.
At least these artificial autumnal signs can be spotted in our real world. In cyberspace, “Christian Girl Autumn” is pure simulacrum.
Coined in 2019 by Twitter sensation Blizzy McGuire, the viral post announced the end of “Hot Girl Summer” and transition into “Christian Girl Autumn” to satirize how our culture obsesses over fall by poking fun at cozy sweaters, infinity scarves, and brimmed felt hats. However, autumnal content blogger Caitlin Covington spun this meme to obtain brand deals with Walmart, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Lululemon.
In true simulacra fashion, Covington’s annual fall photoshoot has become a key indicator of the changing seasons. No longer determined by traditional indicators which are anchored by the world around us, fall now only starts when Covington’s “Christian Girl Autumn” photo dump hits the internet.
Our experience of autumn is no longer connected to the season itself.
Although Jean Baudrillard never took part in “Christian Girl Autumn,” perhaps he would have noted consumerism’s effect on what signs we perceive as autumnal. As Baudrillard writes, “We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning.”
If we cannot perceive nature as a representation of fall, then “autumnal” has less and less meaning with every passing year.
Tags
autumn, Fall, Hot Girl Summer, pumpkin, Pumpkin Spice, Sad Girl Autumn
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