Maybe the 2004 film “Mean Girls” got it right… sometimes girls can be plain old mean. We gossip, we fight, we undermine, we criticize, we judge, we reject, and eventually we hurt. We use our words as weapons, our thoughts as fuel to the fire, and our actions as a defense. We judge other girls and everything about them, from their clothes to their hair to their boyfriend to their life choices. We undermine others in a subconscious attempt to boost our own self-esteem. We do everything we can to somehow create a “she” versus “I” situation in which we place ourselves on a higher pedestal than someone else. Ultimately, we can all be mean girls.
What do we accomplish from hurting others? What do we gain from being a “mean girl”? Is it for the boost of self-confidence that comes from bringing another person down? Is it fueled by the critical and demanding world we live in? Is it motivated by peer pressure or even a mob mentality to make fun of another? We are so much better than the behavior that we exhibit. We are so much better than stooping so low to degrade other girls, to judge them superficially, and to hurt their self-esteem while manipulatively raising our own.
I always thought mean girls only existed in middle and high school. I always hoped that when I went to college that somehow this catty, gossipy behavior and girls would simply fade until it no longer existed. But it seems like unfortunately some mean girls never grow up. The same gossiping still exists in college, perhaps to a lesser degree, but it certainly is still there. We can do so much better than this.
Why can’t we just support each other instead of bringing each other down? Why can’t we give a helping hand instead of an aggressive shove? Why can’t we see the good in others instead of what we view as the negative? At the end of the day, we are all women, and we must use this similarity as common ground to motivate and support one another. So the next time your friend starts talking poorly and gossiping about someone else, think about how you would feel if you were the person being spoken about. Let’s end the gossiping. Maybe then we would have one less girl with hurt feelings on campus and one less girl acting like a “mean girl” among us.
Photo Sources:
http://www.celebquote.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/mean-girls-movie-qu…
http://25.media.tumblr.com/1579b9cf84fb6273d5d745a1d80706bf/tumblr_n169z…
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vm2ecoiEKC8/UwkPag74lMI/AAAAAAAAAhA/cwOsNrk_PA…