The other day I was on the phone with my mom and she asked if I wanted to hear a funny story. I said yes, because my mom is definitely one funny lady. She then told me about how, because one of her male coworkers was continuously complaining, my mom's best friend and coworker, another woman, got fed up and asked him when he "grew a vagina."

I was silent on my end of the phone while my mom laughed. When I tried to explain that I didn't think it was very funny because I don't see any humor in linking weakness or crying with being a woman, she told me that I was looking too much into it. She said it was just like saying someone "throws like a girl" because "not all girls suck at throwing but most do."

Before I say anything else, I must say that my mom, while she may not define herself personally as a feminist, is definitely a supporter of women. She has taught me not to think of myself as less than anyone else and she has always encouraged me in everything I've done in life. She's the first person I go to when I need love and support and I know she will always be there for my sisters and myself.

So why is it that she, like so many other women, has internalized these misogynistic ideas about what it means to do something "like a girl" or why having a vagina = weakness. Why are some women obsessed with saying that they're "not like other girls"? (It is also important to state that biological sex and gender are not the same thing--not every woman has a vagina and not every man has a penis.)

It obviously hurts when the men in my life use misogynistic insults (especially when they don't realize they're being misogynistic and just accuse me of being "too sensitive") and it is annoying when "meninists" online jump onto any article about feminism, anything related to women in general, or anything written by a woman to insult female intelligence and add their "get in the kitchen and make me a sandwich jokes."

It's much worse though when you hear those same insults and stereotypes coming from another woman.

As I stated, so many women love to use the phrase "I'm not like other girls" and, if you ask them why being "like other girls" is a bad thing, the majority of the time you'll hear these reasons: Girls are too bitchy; they cause too much drama; they don't care about anything except clothes and boys; they're boring, etc... What these women are getting at is this: To be seen as female is to be seen as weak and inferior. The closer these women can get to making themselves seem "male" in personality, the less ridicule they'll have to deal with.

But there's nothing wrong with being "traditionally" feminine. There's nothing wrong with enjoying your pumpkin spice lattes, or leggings, or anything else men love to make fun of women for.

As for me, I am like other girls and I am proud to be that way and there is nothing lesser about me because of this.