Double Standards are always on my mind, whether from slut shaming, to feeling uncomfortable wearing a sports bra when running, to even eating habits. I, and my fellow Pitt Her Campus ladies, divulged into the topic of double standards we face as women.
“My 14-year-old brother has had 3 girlfriends in the past two years and has taken one of them to his winter formal. I was told to break up with my first boyfriend after two days, and I was never allowed to go out with a boy alone. For senior prom with my guy friend, we had to go in a group.”
“The classic if a girl hooks up with/dates/sleeps with a lot of guys, she’s a ‘slut’ or ‘easy’, but if a guy is the same way it’s normal, ‘just being a guy’, etc.”
“Men are easily successful in the sports industry, but it’s out of the norm for a woman to want to be involved. Also men typically only want “hot women” as anchors.”
“When men eat a lot of food in one sitting, it’s normal and no one bats an eyelash, but when a woman eats a lot of food in one sitting, then she gets stares or people comment about her weight.”
“Guys can easily work out shirtless; however, there’s some weird negative connotation women face when working out in just a sports bra.”
“People don’t listen to my idea in my field (technology) but if a guy says my exact idea, everyone’s like ‘oh yeah that’ll work.’”
“Being told I’m “being ridiculous” if I get upset over something reasonable, but if a guy gets upset it’s a “terrible situation”
There are many double standards that we face as women as you can see from these quotes from Pitt’s Her Campus chapter members. It’s important to note that these aren’t all the double standards, and I’m sure you can come up with some you noticed. While these are prevalent in our society, we should also remember that are bodies are ours. Our choices are ours. Eat what you want, sleep with whoever you please (with contraceptives handy of course), and flaunt your body if you want to. You are beautiful, strong, smart, and I have all the confidence that you will rise above these double standards and do what makes you happy and live your life how you want to.