Hey girls, can we stop hating each other?
I mean, about superficial things at least. If some girl comes up and socks you in the jaw, that’s a totally valid reason to hate her, but, I digress.
In today’s society, women have it tough, albeit a lot better than we used to (shout out to Susan B. Anthony) but there’s still some problems. We face higher rates of domestic violence and sexual assault than men, we are often used as sex objects to promote products, we get paid less than men for doing the same jobs, and we’re shunned for our sexuality while most men are celebrated for theirs. (Let me acknowledge here that men have to put up with a lot of crap from gender roles too, but I’ll get into that into another article.)
We’ve got a lot of stuff going against us, so it’s very important that we band together and support each other. This is why it’s so awful we see a lot of girl on girl hate in the media and in our community. If a girl wears too much makeup, she is a slut. Too little? A prude and letting herself go. If she dyes her hair platinum blonde and gets spray tans, she’s fake, but if she lets her natural leg hair grow out, she’s “disgusting”. We cannot continue to drag down our fellow women like this.
There’s this kind of mentality that you’re either a “weird girl” or “normal girl” and the other type of girl is bad. Historically, the “weird” girls have been the target of most of the hate. Check out any teen movie like Mean Girls, A Cinderella Story, or Heathers, and you’re bound to find the trope of “normal” girls bullying the “weird” girl. In A Cinderella Story, Sam (the main character) Is “weird” because she hangs out with a “loser,” works at a diner, and plays baseball. The whole school of “normal” girls despise her. Thus exhibiting the “normal vs weird” trope. However, recently, the tables have turned. Being “normal” is seen as bad, hence the creation of the slang term “basic”. For example “basic white girls” drink starbucks, wear uggs, and listen to Taylor Swift. “Basic” has negative connotations to it, but why? Just like there is nothing wrong with being “weird” and say, going to comic con and dying your hair bright colors, there’s nothing wrong with being “normal” and “basic.”
One of the reasons this is happening is the misinterpretation of feminism. Feminism basically is the idea that men and women should be equal and have equal opportunities. This has been misinterpreted as “its bad for girls to do traditionally girly things.” Women that choose to dress in feminine ways, wear heels, have children, and be a homemaker, can be unfairly looked down upon for choosing to be stereotypically girly. This is in no way supported by the core of feminism and only pits women against women.
As girls, can’t we just let other girls live their lives, even if they're different from us? Who cares? As long as no one’s hurting anybody, we should unconditionally support each other and protect each other. We’ve got the world against us, let’s be for each other.
