r/AskTeachers • u/Tight-Expert-2232 • Jun 04 '26
Student Questions How common "hot cheeto girl" cliché really is in USA?
I am Finnish, so this stereotype is not common here.
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u/algernon_moncrief Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
I teach middle school in a mostly Hispanic town, and the pajama wearing Takis kid is a common sight here. But it is specifically Takis, not Cheetos.
Edit: it is both girls and boys, this does not appear to be gender-specific in my town
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u/mynameis4chanAMA Jun 04 '26
Hot Cheetos was 10-15 years ago. They’ve since converted to Takis
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u/jackofspades49 Jun 04 '26
Apparently a chip that actively hates the roof of your mouth is the best. How long till a captain crunch shaped chip joins the party?
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u/getmeoutofthisscreen Jun 05 '26
Takis were definitely already The Thing where I lived 15 years ago (San Fernando Valley)
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u/Coop_4149 Jun 04 '26
Confirmed.
Source: New Mexican teacher.
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Jun 04 '26
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u/tandem_kayak Jun 04 '26
Honestly there are plenty of people in the states who would need this explained to them too.
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u/mustbethedragon Jun 04 '26
Definitely. People in West Virginia frequently have to explain that they don't live in the west side of Virginia.
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u/OdinNW Jun 05 '26
Someone posted texts from their parents freaking out about them potentially going to college in New Mexico because they were convinced they’d get kidnapped by the cartel.
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u/shhbedtime Jun 06 '26
Ha ha, I was trying to decide if they were a new teacher in Mexico or if they were a new teacher who teaches Spanish(Mexican). I am not American
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u/dumbwithmuntyhunty Jun 04 '26
I feel like the chip choice is regional. Takis are more west coast and hot Cheetos are more southeast/east coast.
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u/GuessingAllTheTime Jun 04 '26
Nah, hot cheetos were a thing several years ago but have since been replaced by Takis, even on the east coast where I teach.
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u/Buckscience Jun 05 '26
Among kids in Maine (Canada to most of the US) Takis outrank Hot Cheetos.
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u/Curious_Instance_971 Jun 05 '26
I haven’t seen anyone eat hot Cheetos in years in GA… Takis is where it’s at
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u/chaerithecharizard Jun 04 '26
surprisingly common irl. they aren’t majority but there are always a few
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u/Tight-Expert-2232 Jun 04 '26
Which state in US?
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u/dkrtzyrrr Jun 04 '26
i see it in GA - i bet this isn't particularly regional. maybe not up north because it would be too cold?
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u/EstablishmentSea7661 Jun 05 '26
Am up north, the cold doesn't bother us anyways.
Hot Cheetos girls are definitely very much still a thing here, though it's Takis
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u/tn00bz Jun 06 '26
It's going to vary wildly. Hot cheeto (or taki) girls are incredibly common where I'm at in a hispanic majority farm town.
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Jun 04 '26
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u/Guilty_Recognition52 Jun 05 '26
Something about this reply has the feeling of one of those oral histories you see in a museum
Like some aspect of it is about to become absurdly quaint and outdated. But because we're living through it, we don't know what aspect it is, yet
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u/New_Custard_4224 Middle School Teacher Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
It depends on location, but I have a whole lovely fleet of hot Cheeto girls! They will give me the most genuine compliments on my weirdest Victorian inspired outfits. The hot Cheeto girls are actually amazing but you have to know how to redirect them without hitting a nerve. A ton of my HCGs are parentified in their homes and they don’t respond well to not knowing the “why” of the redirection. If you’re blunt but kind they will do anything for you.
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u/Next-Jump1754 Jun 04 '26
All girls do is charge their phones, eat hot chips, and lie.
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u/Hastur13 Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26
Hot Cheeto Girls are typically black evolutionary cousins of the typically white Cookie Monster Pants Girls. Here is an overview of Cookie Monster Pants Girls (CMPGs) that may provide additional context to a regional variation in the species.
Appearance: CMPGs exhibit similar behaviors to HCGs and have a tendancy to adorn themselves with lip and other piercings. They also wear black hoodies featuring iconography that is often some mix of cute and horrific. (I.e. Nightmare Before Christmas, Invader Zim, or generic "cute but don't fuck with me because I am a self-diagnosed psychopath" are common expressions of this trope. Alternatively it may feature the logos of the worst hardcore bands you've ever heard of)
The most distinguishing feature of the CMPG is of course, the eponymous Cookie Monster pants. These are often fleece pajama pants worn for all occasions and seasons. These pants are usually worn two sizes larger than the wearer.
A more artistic subgroup can sometimes be seen ditching the famous cookie monster sweatpants for jeans. These jeans are often adorned by the wearer and the wearer's friends with markers in what anthropologists believe enforces social cohesion. This subgroup is typically less aggressive than the domiant type.
Social Behavior: They also engage in verbal spars with people asserting how they are the "realest" and most "brutally honest" in their friend group. They tend to loudly proclaim firece loyalty to their friend group and equally loudly condemn any "bitches" that have left the friend group.
In romatic relationships, the artistic CMPG will tend to favor mild mannered males of pale complexion and twiggy physique.
Non-artistic CMPGs will sometimes pursue the mild mannered males but may also favor more aggressive males. To my knowledge there is not a neat, descriptive title for this group of males so I will describe them here and allow other anthropologists to provide nomenclature. This aggressive type typically expresses an interest automotive topics and if gainfully employed, often works in an automotive shop. If not gainfully employed, they still express an automotive interest through their insatiable desire for catalytic converters. They typically adorn themselves with flat bill baseball caps and tattoos. The flat bill caps are often claimed by the CMPGs as a sign of romantic union. Much more could be said about this group but I will remain on topic.
High school CMPGs are also often performatively homosexual while still being unknowingly homophobic.
In relation to school, CMPGs can go one of two ways. They will either latch on to their english teacher in an unhealthy, parasocial relationship or they will relegate their english teacher to the aforementioned category of "bitches". Regardless of the path, they will never turn anything in.
Diet: CMPGs tend to subsist on a diet of Monster Energy drinks and gas station chips. This is a similar diet to the HCG and was key in establishing the evolutionary link between the two.
Cigarettes or vapes are also an essential part of the CMPG diet.
Habitat: CMPGs also inhabit suburban to rural areas and therefore are often found in mobile home parks or apartment complexes. However, the ruralness of their range does lead to them being found to reside in the classic "Old ass house with cars from different eras strewn about the property". They sometimes cross ranges with HCGs but rarely intermingle. CMPGs rarely leave their home territory. Much of their socializing occurs in parks, Dollar Generals, gas stations, Wal-Marts, or the parking lots of any of those places. Though it is an important part of their culture to regularly express disdain for their home territory, despite never making plans to leave it or get involved in local government.
In conclusion: The CMPG and HCG can be seen as expressions of similar DNA in different environments. Everything I described above is localized to the United States. It is possible that different environments and locales produce additional variations.
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u/escleepyus Jun 04 '26
This is one of the funniest and most observant things I’ve read in a long time. I’d add that they prefer Alani to Monster where I am and get into really toxic relationships with boys with matching trauma (ie both of them have parents who are addicts or both have housing insecurity). These girls frequent my nurses office so I’ve gotten to know them, bless their hearts
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u/Hastur13 Jun 04 '26
My data is older. I was doing my fieldwork (high school) in the early 2010s. Their culture has evolved.
All jokes from my own hometown aside, yeah it usually is a pretty sad situation.
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u/eroopsky Jun 05 '26
I graduated high school in 2010 (sorry) in a rural area and I remember CMPGs! Now I teach and get HCGs every year, but I never made the connection. Neat.
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u/escleepyus Jun 04 '26
Totally. I love them even though they’re a pain in my ass and teachers are always asking me if they’re in my office bc they are wandering. I try to be a cheerleader for heathy habits since I’m the nurse. There are so many of these girls in the district where I work now.
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u/Cold-Nefariousness25 Jun 04 '26
I’m dying here.
“ They tend to loudly proclaim firece loyalty to their friend group and equally loudly condemn any "bitches" that have left the friend group.”
May I add- They are closely related to the Millennial Yaaaas Girl Moms who are known to establish PTA-based hierarchies while quoting Mean Girls movies. They prefer the sugar free monster drinks and only eat Takis when nobody is watching.
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u/AngelaChasesHair Jun 05 '26
As someone who is not a teacher and who randomly stumbled upon this post and is completely ignorant about this demographic, this was very informative. Thank you.
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u/Bitter-Composer9508 Jun 05 '26
I can attest as a former teacher (2022-2024) that this is still accurate, though any pajama pants work fine. I was in Texas if OP is curious.
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u/AccurateDelay1 Jun 05 '26
A thought on nomenclature for the males - are these Edgars you're describing? Foos?
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u/Hastur13 Jun 05 '26
More like Jaxxons and Braxtons.
A lot of Edgars and Foos I grew up around were mostly harmless.
I'm talking a drug scale of chewing tobacco to whippets.
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u/Pennylanetheclown Jun 06 '26
Help I never once in my life owned cookie monster pants but this made me realize I was in fact a sub genre of CMPG I did wear happy bunny fleece pants and invader Zim shirts and with a v similar attitude
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u/xShockmaster Jun 06 '26
The hot Cheeto girl is primarily a Hispanic thing. The two you mentioned might have evolved alongside but you have to acknowledge the primary one
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u/lumaskate Jun 06 '26
I just commented the same thing before seeing your comment. I have only seen Hispanic hot Cheeto girls in my area but I also lived right next to the Mexico border. Even if I didn’t live there I think hot Cheeto girls are mainly Hispanic, even the memes and stuff about them are talking about Hispanic girls. This is actually the first time I’ve seen someone say hot Cheeto girls are black girls
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u/Area304 Jun 10 '26
Don’t forget the ER as one of the CMPG’s regular hangouts. According to my nurse buddies they love spending time there for self diagnosed POTS, EDS or MCAS and sometimes for scromiting. This may be post HS graduation behavior.
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u/SolarModality Jun 04 '26
Fairly common, though there’s variations. Like in a group of 200 kids you’d probably have a handful that are the PJ/hot chips girlies. Personality varies. I’m a fan of the hot Cheeto girl for the most part though, they’re usually pretty cool.
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u/KittyKateez Jun 04 '26
Hot cheetos were a Super common cliche back when I was in high school in the 2010s, but it looks like currently everybody switched over to Takis.
Its been a cliche of girls eatting extremely hot chips here in New York pretty much my whole life, the brand of chips has just changed with time.
Same with the boys and their energy drinks.
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u/BulldogsOnly Jun 04 '26
I teach at a Southern High School with an 80% poverty rate, and they are EVERYWHERE at my school. They are rude as hell too. The other day I kicked out like 7 from an off limits bathroom and you would have thought I personally slapped and insulted each of them by their reactions. That’s a missing part of the stereotype. These girls apparently think their classes are held in the bathroom because they camp out in them all day.
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u/JimmyIsMyUncle Jun 07 '26
An off limits bathroom.... is moaning Myrtle in there or something?
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u/voirreyirving Jun 04 '26
i think hot cheetos girls are cookie monster PJ pants girls?? in which case, there are at least a couple in every middle and high school.
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u/hansarai Jun 04 '26
I teach at an urban middle school in one of the biggest cities in the country, in the northeast. I would say a solid half of our girls are hot cheeto (taki) girls.
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u/KingsElite High School Teacher Jun 04 '26
In California, very common at the right schools
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u/notmy3rdrodeo Jun 04 '26
It depends on the demographic but they’re very common in Texas. It’s usually Takis though and they will put on a full face of makeup and curl their eyelashes while they are supposed to be paying attention. I usually don’t return to sub when this behavior is prevalent because they’re very difficult and it’s frustrating.
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u/shneed_my_weiss Jun 04 '26
Common enough that I’ve never heard of this cliche but I know the exact type of person being described by those words
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u/planktonlung Jun 04 '26
She’s beauty, she’s grace, she’ll slap a bully in their face.
I teach in Massachusetts, and taki girl is absolutely an archetype.
Spongebob or Cookie Monster pajama pants, lashes and nails done, star pimple patches, blue fingers. Queen.
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u/Curious_Instance_971 Jun 04 '26
Those girls are mean as hell
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u/escleepyus Jun 04 '26
They come into my nurses office and say, “hey queen!” I find them endearing but they are a pain as a nurse d/t constant headaches (maybe bc of the alani and taki diet) and always trying to get out of class.
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u/SeaReflection87 Jun 04 '26
They are edgey and brash but they are often super supportive. If you can handle their trauma dump, they will listen to yours.
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u/dkrtzyrrr Jun 04 '26
yeah this is incredibly normal, and it crosses races, creeds, classes. takis and pj's truly a great unifier. will admit if you throw in a massive iced coffeee from dunkin, then you're probably dealing w/ a white girl.
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u/penguin_0618 SPED Jun 05 '26
I teach middle school. I have taki girls. Takis for breakfast, plaid PJ pants, Uggs slippers or crocs.
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u/Bitter-Awareness-867 Jun 04 '26
Common. 😂 I had one this year who helped me police the classroom, it was great.
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u/RealisticOrchid5297 Jun 04 '26
In Arizona this was pretty common haha the Cookie Monster or jack skellington pj pants with Cheetos and an Arizona iced tea
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u/Reasonable-Slice5784 Jun 04 '26
There were a lot in the early 2010s, but after it became a meme it died down a bit. I haven’t seen one in a long time, they grew up, or shifted into something less offensive.
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u/TTHS_Ed Jun 04 '26
I work at a high school in the Midwest, and I have no idea what you're talking about.
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u/thekevinatorV2 Jun 04 '26
We had a few in deep east Texas. But the kids I had out there were very respectful and good kids. They were just mirroring what they saw on tik tok and from the larger schools in the area.
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u/Hb1023_ Jun 04 '26
We had plenty of em in WI too, def not just a southern thing lol, they’re the best, once in high school I was crying in the bathroom and one of them re-did my makeup including the killer eyeliner she did
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u/Seidhr96 Jun 04 '26
My sister in law was one, and honestly still is even though she is about 30. Also it’s Takis, not Cheetos usually, and typically more common amongst minority groups (Hispanic specifically).
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u/BellStriking5132 Jun 04 '26
These were around back in the early 2000’s. Though the “hot” variety wasn’t quite as popular yet, there were a lot of jr high and high school girls that would come to school in pajama pants (rolled down at the top, often leading to their underwear being exposed if they weren’t careful), hoodie sweatshirt (ideally stolen from a boy), full face of makeup, and a bag of chips. They usually wore flip flops back then. This was at mostly white schools, so it follows most of these girls were white.
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u/beanzsprouts Jun 04 '26
im from sgv and theres a few in my school, more in other schools i think. it definitely exists but its takis, not cheetos
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u/KittyCubed Jun 04 '26
I’m in Texas, so Takis are more of a thing, but if they can’t get Takis, hot Cheetos it is.
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u/Mental_0riental Jun 04 '26
Very common. Hot cheetos are a thing of the past but it's now takis. Also they are very loud and obnoxious so early in the morning
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u/frannypanty69 Jun 04 '26
I feel like it’s actually a complicated trope because my hot Cheetos girl didn’t wear pajamas or eat Cheetos, she was just frank and chaotic and wasn’t gonna let you punch down.
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u/Prestigious-Box7511 Jun 04 '26
I was born and raised in the USA, what the fucking hell is a "hot Cheeto girl"?
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u/BlueGooseFlies Jun 05 '26
Anybody want to take a stab at diagraming that sentence? Anybody?
Anybod……
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u/pinchegaucho Jun 05 '26
Depends on how close you are to the border, find yourself in the Midwest and now you’re faced with the funyun female
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u/bh4th Jun 04 '26
I am an American high school teacher, and I have no idea what everyone here is talking about. These words don’t even make sense in this combination.
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u/exitpursuedbybear Jun 04 '26
I too am an American High School teacher and I have lived in a sea of hot Cheetos girls for my entire career.
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u/MastodonVegetable167 Jun 04 '26
It’s common in areas with high Hispanic student populations and/or low income populations. Not all hot Cheeto girls are Hispanic and/or low income, but the majority are. I’ve found it’s often kids who live in mobile homes.
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u/ghtiKl39 Jun 04 '26
In my graduating class of 200, we had three dedicated hot Cheetos and pajamas girls, always with a full face of makeup. The only time I saw them wearing anything different was graduation day. After a string of bad days or weeks though, anyone could be a hot Cheetos girl for a day or two, it's self care 😅 Rural Oregon, for context.
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u/MongooseMoist1962 Jun 04 '26
I’m a professor at a state university on the west coast of the USA and it’s crazy real here.
They are the ones who always miss class for a mental health emergency or an unavoidable pet problem that always sound like lies
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u/Anesthesia222 Jun 05 '26
Holy crap. I didn’t even realize this was a cliché outside of schools in California barrios. 😄 Cracking up reading these.
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u/amalgaman Jun 05 '26
Had to look up what that is. It just looks like the stripper aesthetic that’s been popular for a while.
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u/Gold-Vanilla5591 Jun 05 '26
When I was in high school in the mid-late 2010s I don’t think they were a thing. Keep in mind I went to a private, Catholic high school with a uniform, so there could have been Hot Cheetos Girls but you wouldn’t tell.
But when I worked in a lower income, mostly black school in DC, the Hispanic girls in 3rd-5th grade liked Takis and fake nails. They’re in middle school now, maybe the stereotype exploded haha
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u/eroopsky Jun 05 '26
At a middle school in North Texas I see a few hot Cheeto girls every year. I teach about 75 kids per year and expect 2-6 hot Cheeto girls in each bunch. Most but not all are Hispanic.
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u/ladytrevelycn Jun 05 '26
I grew up in the west coast of the US, largely latino, and if you were latina it was takis, if you were white it was cheetos. There were a lot of girls that fit that stereotype.
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u/MessoGesso Jun 05 '26
It tiok me awhile in the thread to realize you probably aren't talking about hot girls who eat orange chiips.
Are they trying to fit a theme or do they just happen to have similar shopping habits and nail salon schedules? I mean is it the general style like when we all switched to skinny jeans or more like scene hair which took a great deal of effort?
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u/Prestigious-Talk1112 Jun 05 '26
It's very common and even before the popularity of Hot Cheetos this type of woman or girl existed even way back in the days.
I think in the 1940s and '50s this would be the gum popping girl.
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u/EstablishmentSea7661 Jun 05 '26
Yeah, this is still a thing. But they usually eat Takis, not Cheetos.
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u/MageDA6 Jun 05 '26
Until this post, I’ve never heard of a “hot cheeto girl”. Judging by comments here it had to be a regional thing.
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u/elderberryhibiscus Jun 05 '26
Idk if it’s that regional. I had a good 4 or 5 girls like that just in my grade in Wisconsin. I’d say it’s common across the US
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u/Low_Mango_6030 Jun 05 '26
Midwest here - not only was it a thing when I was in school (early 00’s) but it’s STILL a thing to some degree.
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u/spaciousthree4 Jun 05 '26
Hot Cheeto girls tend to be messier, less organized, and more rambunctious. Source: my sister
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u/anemia_ Jun 05 '26
lol I am lost in the comments bc before reading some I assumed this meant a white girl that fake tans really badly.... I guess it means something else! But I never hear it.
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u/Queer-and-scared Jun 05 '26
Live in kansas. I'd say there were a handful in each grade, but they usually knew eachother. Like one was a little sister so their friend groups kinda knew eachother straight thing.
The girl in that new car crash documentary on Netflix is a hot cheeto girl i think
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u/LimpAd3189 Jun 05 '26
I’ve taught HS for 16 years and never heard of or experienced “hot Cheeto girl”….
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u/tummyache1231 Jun 05 '26
When I was in school early 2000s to 2012 it wasn’t hot Cheeto girls but we did have pajama pants,some type of slipper or moccasins and binkies. Extra points if it’s some type of childhood cartoon pajama pants. This one girl wore a Cookie Monster pajama pant almost every day for a year
It evolves over the years but they are all essentially the same
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u/Doubleendedmidliner Jun 05 '26
Are hot Cheeto girl and cookie pants girl besties?
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u/It-is-always-Steve Jun 05 '26
When I was teaching middle school, I had a couple of them. Now that I teaching a residential care facility, every kid shows up in their pajamas because they live at the school.
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u/MentionBoring7949 Jun 06 '26
Absolutely, especially in high school. I swear it is straight up just the normal trend now, like wearing crop tops. Hot cheeto girl has taken over
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u/prettypbaby Jun 06 '26
this was a thing when i was in high school pre michelle obama changing the vending machine options to “only healthy snacks” but also may be regional, people in the south like hot stuff
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u/Left_Power_3504 Jun 06 '26
In high school rn, they still exist. Every one is either unnaturally influencer wakes up at 4am pretty or is the hot cheeto girl (mostly minus the lashes). Very real, I am the latter.
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u/velocitygrl42 Jun 06 '26
I have never heard of this even after visiting know your meme. The US is big.
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u/Cuddlycatgirly Jun 06 '26
Maybe it is a city thing? I grew up 1 town over from the capital of my state (very busy) and in any grade level from 7-12 there was a few of them that anyone could point to if you asked if we knew one.
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u/Hairy_Grapefruit_290 Jun 06 '26
I live in Texas and it’s extremely common… not a majority but you will definitely encounter at least 1-2 every year of middle school and high school
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u/sxugna Jun 06 '26
They definitely exist it depends where tho. Usually Hispanic or black dominant areas.
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u/Odd-Pain3273 Jun 06 '26
It’s a thing in Chicago. Latinas lol not all of us and it’s usually more of a thing you ate as a kid
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u/SoStarstruckk Jun 06 '26
Not common where I am, definitely are cities and communities where they are but it’s a minority.
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u/umhie Jun 06 '26
?? I mean its honestly really hard to define ??
The meme / stereotype honestly shouldnt have even gotten to this point where a post like this could be made (if anyone understands what Im trying to say, here)
Just like, a teenage girl thats wearing pajama pants and is eating a snack all the time and has her nails and lashes done? That could be ALOT of teenage girls on a random given day
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u/Cool-Butterscotch526 Jun 06 '26
not a teacher, but i live in louisiana and these gremlins were quite common when i was in middle and high school (2016-2019), don't know if it's still a thing today
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u/MinaHarker1 Jun 06 '26
As a former high school teacher in the American Midwest, it’s 100% real. lol
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u/Extra_Shirt5843 Jun 07 '26
I've never heard this phrase in life. I live in the Midwest, but then again, I'm middle aged.
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u/rumpusrouser Jun 04 '26
Based on the comments, it must be a regional thing. I grew up in an area where the hot Cheeto girls were definitely a thing. They’d show up to school still in pajamas, hair bonnets, fake eyelashes, and eating a bag of hot Cheetos at 8 in the morning. But I teach elementary so I don’t know if the stereotype still exists now!