I walk around campus and struggle not to roll my eyes at how clueless guys seem to be about the world of being a female. There are a lot of myths the opposite sex tends to have about girls, and I’m here to dispel ten of them. If you’re a guy reading this, you may be pretty shocked by this list.
Myth #1: Girls shave every day
The truth is: Many girls I know, and even myself, are culprits of skipping shaving, and not just by a day or two, either. There are a lot of girls I know who, in the winter months, go weeks without shaving their legs, maybe even months for some. A lot of girls even skimp on shaving their armpits for a long duration of time. Why bother? It’s such a pain and if they’re covered, who’s going to know?
Myth #2: When girls have sleepovers, they wear cute pajamas and have pillow fights
The truth is: I have never in my life had a pillow fight at a sleep over, and I know a lot of girls who haven’t either. For the majority of girls I know, when we get together for a sleep over, we are gross. We act obnoxiously, laugh obnoxiously, eat more food than anyone ever should and usually talk about boys. The pajamas we wear when we’re together are not what you’d call “cute”. Most girls I know wear scruffy looking t-shirts to bed and whatever bottoms they find comfy. Often times, the “pajamas” we wear don’t even match, and the patterns of the top and the bottom often clash … hard.
Myth #3: All girls want to do is shop
The truth is: Many girls I know hate to go shopping. It’s crowded, chaotic and spending money makes them cringe. I don’t fall under this category, because I actually love to go shopping, but I have a lot of friends who have plenty of other ways they’d rather spend their time and money.
Myth #4: Girls only want to buy expensive, name brand items when shopping
The truth is: Girls have a dirty little secret when it comes to shopping. Often times, we find cheap deals at consignment shops on adorable clothes or find super cute items at stores like Wal-Mart that we like better than the “best” designer clothing.
Myth #5: When a girl is interested in a guy, it means she wants a relationship
The truth is: This myth couldn’t be any farther from the truth. When a girl is interested in a guy, it doesn’t mean that she wants a relationship. She may be flirty, sweet and act like she’s interested but in reality a lot of girls love the single life and don’t want to be tied down by a relationship. There are also a lot of girls who are scared of commitment and that’s OK. To all the guy readers out there, if you’re hanging out with a girl and she’s acting interested in you and you aren’t interested in a relationship, don’t be that jerk that automatically stops hanging out with her because you’re afraid of commitment. Chances are, she doesn’t want one either.
Myth #6: When a girl is in a bad mood, it must mean she is on her period
The truth is: This is one of the most annoying aspects of having emotions as a girl—if you have any negative emotion, lots of guys automatically assume it’s because you’re on your period. Let’s be real here. Girls are people too and are allowed to be upset without it meaning that it’s “that time of the month”.
Myth #7: Girls wear yoga pants because they think it makes their butt look good
The truth is: Maybe some girls wear them for that reason, because hey let’s just admit it, yoga pants do make a butt look good. However, most girls wear yoga pants because they’re lazy. Yoga pants are comfortable. Who wants to wriggle into uncomfortably tight jeans when there is a stretchy, comfy pair of yoga pants to slide on?
Myth #8: Girls love to wear heels
The truth is: Guys, we’re only wearing them for you. Heels hurt … a lot. They’re incredibly uncomfortable, but girls know guys like the way they look in heels so before a night out on the town, a lot of girls will suffer through the pain and then whip the heels off the first chance they get.
Myth #9: Girls want flowers
The truth is: Yes, flowers are beautiful, smell great, and it’s very flattering to receive a bouquet full of gorgeous flowers. With that being said, flowers are incredibly fragile and a lot of work for something that just wilts and dies.
Myth #10: Girls only do dainty workouts at the gym.
The truth is: A wide variety of men seem to think that girls are wimpy and only do dainty workouts at the gym. They seem to assume that girls only want to use the elliptical and barely break a sweat. However, as a girl who loves to lift heavy weights at the gym and does intense cardio training sessions, I have gotten a lot of questioning looks from guys at the gym when I’m drenched in sweat and bench pressing barbells. A lot of girls like to lift heavy weights at the gym and it not only feels good, but also helps you shape a body that looks incredible.
Girls come in all shapes and sizes, thoughts and feelings, mentalities and personalities. All of these myths add up to one solid conclusion: Gender stereotypes are not an accurate way to gauge a person for who they are. Stop the stereotypes.