Explainer / What is Christian girl autumn? Meet Caitlin Covington, the ‘queen’ of the season
The woman behind the meme has given us yearly autumn content since 2019 – and she is neither Republican nor homophobic, as the internet believed
Every year since 2019, Caitlin Covington has heralded the beginning of cosy season with annual Pinterest-perfect photoshoots and videos in front of idyllic backdrops, where she is dressed in autumnal knitwear paired with skinny jeans and a pair of ankle boots. Often, she’s also sporting meticulously styled barrel curls and holding the ultimate autumn drink: a steaming cup of Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte.
For the past six years, Covington – a 35-year-old mother of two – has been the unofficial face of “Christian girl autumn”, a trend that first went viral thanks to an X user. In August 2019, the user shared a photo of blogger Covington alongside fellow influencer Emily Gemma, both clad in matching autumn ensembles featuring oversized scarves, skinny jeans and ankle boots. The tweet’s caption read, “Hot girl summer is coming to an end, get ready for Christian girl autumn,” accompanied by an autumn leaves emoji and heart eyes emoji.
According to Vox, the original tweet was retweeted over 12,000 times, with users joking about the near-identical outfits and matching (brunette) hairstyles worn by Covington and Gemma. Some took it further by making assumptions about their personalities and beliefs based on their appearances, speculating that they were likely Republican, homophobic, racist and Christian.
“This picture asked me not to kiss another man in public and if I could please leave the restaurant,” one user tweeted.
However, instead of taking offence, Covington leaned into the joke and embraced Christian girl autumn. “If all of Twitter is gonna make fun of my fall photos, at least pick some good ones! Super proud of these. For the record, I do like pumpkin spice lattes. Cheers!” Covington tweeted at the time, sharing a few more pictures.
Covington further stated that while she is a Christian, she supports Black Lives Matter, is an LGBTQ ally and is not a Republican. She later also shared a link from Natasha, the creator of the Christian girl autumn meme, when the latter started a GoFundMe for her gender-affirming surgery, and donated US$500 herself.