We’ve all seen it: we flip to that last page of whatever trashy tabloid we’re indulging in and begin to make judgments. The title of the page reads: “Who Wore It Best?” and for whatever reason, while fashion styles apply to women and men, women seem to be the only sex featured on the page. We know this game all too well -- so much so, that it has become hard to question it.
It’s not just the “Who Wore It Best” columns, either. The media is a pro at pitting women against each other. Fabricating fictional arguments, scenarios, and competitions amongst celebrities are only a few things outlets have done recently to establish this problem. It seems as if the media has trouble realizing that two females can co-exist within the same industry peacefully. Women are surrounded by competition, and what makes matters worse is that our own sex tends to encourage it.
All of these comparisons, contests, and rivalries that we see in the media seem to make it OK for us as women to do the same. Girls are constantly negatively comparing themselves to others. By seeing what the media does to women -- creating these false, meaningless competitions -- we end up doing it to ourselves. The media has created this environment by not only establishing contests, but also somehow creating an unattainable winning status.
In our world, women have to have a favorite, or they have to choose. You’re either Team Taylor Swift or Team Katy Perry, and if you don’t care for either, you somehow need to at least pick one. It translates into our everyday lives too. When your friends get into an argument, a side needs to be chosen. When two people are wearing the same shirt out one night, one of them needs to be wearing it better than the other. Not only is there inequality amongst the sexes in our society, but there seems to be inequality amongst women in general as well.
So what can we do about this? Are we doomed? Is this something that will continue happening? It will unless we, as women, realize that it’s not necessary to create negative comparisons amongst each other. There’s no need for competition. The media may continue to pit women against each other, but that doesn’t mean we have to. Instead of tearing one another down, build each other up. Empower the girls around us and show them there is no competition.
We must take a step back and realize the way we are seeing each other. As the great Beyoncé once said, “We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead.”
