"As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world - that is the myth of the atomic age - as in being able to remake ourselves." -- Mahatma Gandhi

In today's society, girls are constantly pressured to be physically a "10" while living up to certain social standards. What is appropriate for a modern girl is dictated by the clothes she wears, the people she associates with, how much she talks to guys, how often she goes out, blah blah blah. These guidelines, so to speak, were crafted from the misogynistic patriarchy that has dominated our culture and society for centuries.

In this world, men have the luxury to do whatever they please, while if a woman were to do the same, she would be disgraced, defamed, and called derogatory words. Whoever said words don't hurt, lied, and no matter how thick-skinned you are, words can make an impact on how you carry yourself, your confidence in who you are, and your self-image. Historically, a woman who stays within the rubric for how to dress, speak, and act, has always been considered a 'good' girl. But in this pro-feminist era, why would we still perpetuate this theory? As women, we sometimes add fire to it without necessarily realizing it. Judging a woman by how short her skirt is? Eyeing how tight her leggings are and thinking she shouldn't be wearing those? Or commenting on how many guys she's had in her bed, or lack thereof? You are allowing the idea of a 'good' girl to fester.

As a species, do we not have more important things to worry about than how many guys she's texting or where the rest of her clothes went? This is not to say that people cannot have their own opinions, but to assume someone is not "good" because they don't conform to your standards and ideals is preposterous. In this progressive age, we have no time to put labels on who people are anymore.

What a "good" girl is:

Whatever the hell she wants to be.

What a "good" girl is NOT:

What you think she should be.

And guys! You are the worst at perpetuating the "good" girl theory! Basing your friendships and love life on girls that are good or not is limiting you. YOU are the one missing out on something great and magical if you won't even talk to a girl because of the way she dresses or how much she curses or how much she parties. You have no right to tell us how we should act. Besides, don't you think you've demonized women enough? With social media, there is no filter for you all and you're left to criticize and forsake women who are two times the person you are and have been through a lot to become the women they are. Women put up with a lot of you fools who aren't "good" guys but we don't care because we don't let society dictate to us who deserves our attention and who doesn't.

Perpetuating the "good" girl theory is like sitting down your daughter or little sister or niece and saying, "When you're older, you're not allowed to express yourself or be who you are because people who don't matter are going to judge you and guys who don't deserve you are going to mistreat you and disrespect you." What little girl deserves to be told who she is inside isn't good enough for society's standards? Not only does that contribute to low self-confidence, but also encourages depression, family issues, and bad social relationships.

Instead of criticizing each other, we need to empower one another and let love into our hearts.