Women today face judgement for just about everything we do—and for some crazy reason, when we don’t live up to the impossible scrutiny we face, we feel bad about it. I can’t count how many times I have been afraid to share my ideas because I thought they weren’t good enough or didn’t wear an outfit that I liked because I was afraid others would think it looked odd. Well, it’s time we stop worrying about what other people think. Here are six things that we, as women, need to stop apologizing for.
1. Our ideas and opinions
Why are we so afraid to say what we think? Women spend too much time worrying what others will think if we speak our minds, or we think that what we have to say isn’t important enough to be shared. We usually have some really great ideas! Think of all of the genius female writers, artists, and inventors who have contributed so much to our world. Women are brilliant, and our opinions matter, so we should shout out our ideas and never say sorry for them!
2. Our bodies
There are so many strict “ideals” imposed upon women concerning how we should look. We see photos every day of unrealistic body types that we’re expected to conform to. Then when we don’t, or when we can’t, we feel bad about it. But there’s nothing wrong with us. The problem is with the media and society that impose these standards on us. They should be the ones apologizing to us.
3. Who we choose to date (or not)
We ought to be able to declare unapologetically that we want to be with someone. Women (actually all people, for that matter) deserve to date whomever they want. Women also need to be able to not date anyone they don’t want to. It’s not uncommon for a woman to agree to go out with a guy she isn’t interested in because she’s worried about what he’ll do or what people will say if she turns him down. It is absolutely ridiculous that we have to fear saying no to someone we don’t have feelings for, and this is something that we should never feel guilty about.
4. The way we look
Women also face too many rules when it comes to what we should wear, how we should do our makeup and how we should style our hair. We’re told that our skirts are too short, our makeup too bold, our hair too unprofessional— we need to ignore anyone who tells us this. We are perfect, and we can style ourselves however we want, yet it seems like every week we hear a new story about a girl’s education being impeded because others didn’t like her outfit. She has nothing to be sorry for, and neither do the rest of us.
5. Our opportunities
Women have this terrible habit of doubting ourselves when we are given great opportunities. For example, if we’re offered a new position, we sometimes wonder or contemplate whether we are actually qualified enough for it. We question if we’re the best ones for the job. Guess what? We are! We wouldn’t be hired for new jobs or offered great opportunities if we didn’t deserve them. Instead of doubting whether we’re enough, we need to unapologetically take advantage of and enjoy the chances we’re given.
6. Our existence
Women matter, and our thoughts and feelings are important. Even still, we have the tendency to speak quietly, and we often make an effort to take up as little space as we possibly can. Women do our best to conform to ideals forced upon us, and we still feel like we aren’t enough. We need to stop feeling sorry for taking what we deserve and being who we are. Instead we should start being who we want to be and speaking our minds. In short, women need to stop apologizing for all of the things that come with simply existing.