"We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead." - Beyoncé
Elle Woods once said, "We girls need to stick together. We can't try to look good by making each other look bad". This couldn't be more true. Since when has it ever been okay to step on others in order to reach the top? This epidemic of women shaming has been running rampant over the past few decades, specifically in the entertainment genre. Over and over again, the media sets women up for failure when they comprare endlessly. Comparison could, most likely, be the downfall of the feminist movement. For example, Taylor Swift's highly-anticipated music video for her hit song "Bad Blood" included upwards of a dozen female superstars. A few weeks later, Madonna came out with her "Bitch, I'm Madonna" music video. Her video starred more female celebrities rocking out. Almost immediately the media was jumping at the chance to put the two groups against each other. The media broke down each video by comparing the number of people, authenticity of each person involved, and so on. "Who did it better?" "Who wore it better?" They created a gap between fan bases of each pop ster, forcing people to choose their "favorite".
Women are constantly pitted against each other in order to make one group superior. I hate to play the gender card but George Clooney and Brad Pitt wouldn't be compared; they are constantly placed together on the same platform to prove that they're better together. There must be less comparison and more compassion between women.
What's more sad is that it's mainly women who are perpetuating this. Why is it that women feel it necessary to negatively compare each other? It's because we've been trained our whole lives to discriminate and turn our backs on women if theyre not as "perfect" as the next woman. It's up to us, all of woman kind, to stop this sweeping pandemic. We must life each other up, not bash down. We must take a stand to fight for each other, not attack them on the opposite team. We must empower our fellow woman rather than shut them down constantly. Without our participation and leadership, the rest of the world will join us.
