Yes, you read that right.

I've seen so many articles as of late on sites of all varieties that come with the same tagline: "I am not a Netflix and Chill kind of girl." And, while that's truly fantastic for anyone that doesn't happen to be that sort of woman, why are we tearing down the younger and older women alike who are that sort of person? Better yet, why are we implying that there is anything shameful about it in the slightest? Why does that even have to be a specific category of person? Since when do someone's actions and preferences have to exclusively define them? There is absolutely nothing shameful in casual sex, for both men and women alike, as one's intimate decisions are of no one's concern but their own.

We live in a society that finds itself more concerned with the goings-on of other people's bedrooms than any of our own personal matters. People's sexual preferences are often used against them and used to rank people in a purity based hierarchy, with those who have either had the least amount of partners or the most committed (in terms of being in a relationship) partners ranking towards the top while those who have engaged in more casual actions or simply just have a higher number than deemed acceptable find themselves towards the bottom, berated and dragged through the mud throughout so many forms of popular media.

But why? Why are we basing someone's worth on something that shouldn't even matter to anyone but the person in question? Why is it OK to assume that the more people someone's been intimate with, the less their character is? Why are these two things inversely related? A person's character shouldn't be based on something as trivial as that, because in the grander scheme of a person and the world as a whole, it doesn't matter.

How many people someone has been with doesn't make them a better or worse person. It's what they do with their lives and the choices they make that impact those around them that determine their character, not what they do in the comfort of privacy with another human being. As long as those choices aren't hurting anyone around them, what difference does it make? Better yet, why do we even care so much? Why are we so concerned about the personal lives of those around us that we've come up with so many ideas and theories about how and why any of this even matters?

I am a firm believer that anyone should be able to be whoever they so choose, within legal limits, and not feel as though they're being shamed for who they are. If no one is getting hurt by someone being exactly who they are, what's the worst that could happen? More damage is done every day by individuals who refuse to accept lifestyles different than their own, and more and more people are beginning to feel as though they can't be themselves because of articles like the aforementioned and backlash that they often face. If you're free to not be a "Netflix and Chill kind of girl," why is someone not, in turn, free to be that kind of girl?

Regardless of the type of message these articles are trying to send, they're only adding to the increasing problem that today's society has with non-acceptance and shaming an individual for their personal preferences. Everyone likes different things and everyone chooses to live their life differently, and that's perfectly OK. Everyone is also entitled to their own opinion, and that's also perfectly OK. I'm not here to change anyone's opinion, but just to ask that you kindly think twice before you speak, because to many, these articles come off as nothing more than thinly veiled slut shaming, and trust me when I say this: it's entirely more damaging than you probably think.

So, the next time you find yourself in a situation like this, instead of choosing to pass judgement on someone else's life, just let it go. If they're happy and you're happy and everyone else is happy, isn't that all that really matters? Netflix and Chill or not?