‘Material Girl’ trend is revealing what parents looked like when they were young: ‘Mom’s a baddie’

It can be hard to think of our parents as anything other than, well, our parents — the people who raised us and continue to be confused about what their WiFi password is. But a new trend on TikTok has people sharing what their parents used to look like in their “Material Girl” era (aka their teens and twenties), and it’s catching on like wildfire.

The trend (which is mostly being referred to as the #dadtrend or #momtrend) usually starts off by showing what a person’s mom or dad looks like today, along with text about how they allegedly used to be so good-looking that they’d often have to “reject” potential suitors. Overtop of the footage plays Madonna’s 1984 hit, “Material Girl.”

At first, the TikToker feigns disbelief until they stumble upon a few unearthed photos of their parent from back in the day, and suddenly, it all makes sense.

One TikTok that’s gone super viral was shared by @melliescl, who shares photos of her dad now against photos of him as a young twenty-something in the ’80s — when he looked like some kind of catalog model.

The now-versus-then photos are so dramatic, people in the comments couldn’t contain their shock.

“THE WAY MY JAW DROPPED,” one person wrote.

“I’m getting on my time machine,” another person joked.

Other TikToks reveal equally jaw-dropping mom transformations, like this one from @lplanet:

“She’s like Angelina Jolie but prettier,” one person complimented.

“Your mom won this challenge,” added another.

A lot of commenters have taken these before-and-after photos as a reminder that youth is fleeting (and sometimes, so are good looks).

“Anybody else see these and fear getting old??” one person wondered aloud.