Recently, someone told me that they can tell that I get the most excited when I am talking about female friendship and supporting different women. In this article, I will address why female friendship is something that I love to talk about and why it is so important.
The fact is, that there is not enough representation of female friendship. The Bechdel test showed how true this is. In media, females are often focused on the actions of the men rather than relationships with the other female characters. We see so few representations of female friendship that we often forget how common it is in real life. We would be taught to believe that women are only functional when they are angry at another woman or with a man. In the news very recently, we have seen Angelina Jolie firing her nanny for flirting with Brad Pitt. News of female camaraderie is not so common. This perpetuates the idea that females are uninterested in relationships with other women (because of jealousy and other outcomes).
Because of this lack of support represented in the media, people continue to believe that women enjoy being catty. While some women may be malicious toward one another, it is dangerous to believe that this is the norm. Women should be looking out for one another, not trying to be "cool" by slighting other women. Because people have this belief that women are catty, the way to be seen as unlike this stereotype is by showing dislike for other women, or a preference toward men. This is explained pretty well in "Gone Girl," as well as exemplified by far too many middle school- and high school-aged people.
I see this less in college, but I think it is because I have so many female friends that understand the importance of having other women around to support and uplift them. Friends like Leslie Knope and Ann Perkins, or most of the cast of "Mad Max: Fury Road," show young and growing girls that women are not always dramatic or catty. We can accomplish so much more together than we can if we all believe that it's best to be alone.
