If an alien came down to earth and were to judge all women based off of Katherine Heigl movies and Taylor Swift songs, they would think that we want nothing more than to meet a guy in some awkward and embarrassing situation, run into him time and time again, accidently sleep with him, deny liking him, and then end up together in the end. Society, Hollywood, and (arguably) Katherine Heigl & Taylor Swift all think that is what we want. Is that what we want? The same old story with tears from the female lead, occasional douceyness from the male lead, tied together in the end with them desperately realizing they
can’t live without each other even though they’ve known each other for about 2 ½ weeks? Romance and the female role has gone through a recent and rapid evolution, just like, say, technology and fashion.
Imagine the 1990’s: would anyone be caught dead walking to class with Uggs on their feet and phones up to their faces? So, if such huge changes can happen so little time, why are women still depicted in the same hopeless, man-obsessive light? We’ve changed and we know it, and I think the world should know it, too. Here is some proof that we as young women are stronger, smarter, and more able to stand on our own than ever before.
1. It’s harder for guys to hide their douchey characteristics. If I had to guess, I would say that women have lost all faith in the idea of the ‘perfect guy’. In the past, women may have seen red flags in things like “he didn’t open the car door for me,” or, “he wanted to split the check”. Now, we get signals to peace out much sooner than ever before. For example, if he has shirtless pictures on Facebook or misspells every word in a text message, we know before even going out with him that it’s not going to work. When telling details like this arise so early on in getting to know someone, we have more incentive to move the hell on. This makes for less attachment, more doubts about the general male population, and occasional wishing that Facebook didn’t exist because it always ruins good guys. We’re now trained to do our pre-date research, which often leads to the date never even happening and us talking to more and more guys at a time.
2. Two words: Samantha Jones. Icons like Samantha from Sex & The City and more recently, Jessa from Girls, makes men seem disposable and untrustworthy. Not to mention, these ladies often times seem much happier than their friends, who are usually weaving in and out of relationship and giving their trust to men who haven’t even asked for it. I wouldn’t advise carrying yourself in every way that Samantha and Jessa do, but I think that their mindset is in the right place, especially in college culture. These women have taught us be in control of co-ed relationships, and that maybe you can always get what you want. These are two vital details that shape why women don’t crave the big romantic getup as much as we did before – it’s no longer viewed as essential for happiness.
3. Reality TV. When we see “reality” TV stars like Kourtney Kardashian settling down with someone, minus the whole big white dress thing, it shows us that traditional relationships are totally unnecessary. Yes, she has beautiful children and an awesome boyfriend (in my opinion), but she hasn’t tied herself down. Because this is supposedly “reality” television, it’s gives off the vibe that this is totally normal and applicable to our lives: we can do what makes us happy for x amount of time, but leave room for other options down the road. We no longer need one perfect guy to fulfill us – someone who’s good for now will do until, when and if, something better comes along. Head’s up, Disick, HCQU girls just may be looking for someone like you in the near future.
There you have it – the reasons why Katherine Heigl, Adele, and Taylor Swift are full of it, and need to get with the times. Men are no longer objects of our happiness and the only thing that’s on our minds – power women are in style, and our generation is the proof. Sure, it’s nice to think that we are all like freakin’ Cinderella and deserve to have a guy hunt us down with our lost stiletto, but the point is that we don’t need or expect that anymore. We’re increasingly happier on our own, with several guys at our fingertips and no need to immerse ourselves in whiny Adele songs post-breakup. As time moves on, we move on easier than we ever did, and become stronger when we’re on our own.