News Flash: Slut Shaming makes you look bad – not them
*eye roll* We have all called someone a whore, a partier, slut, or a bitch. Don’t deny it because it’s not fooling anyone. No, it doesn’t make us all bad people, and I will be the first to call myself a hypocrite in this regard. Situations in our lives cause us to view other girls as competition and a threat; and hell yeah, they are competition. A gorgeous, smart, educated woman is a threat because they are *fabulous*. However, that does not give anyone the right to rag on their successes in an attempt to make themselves look better.
NEWSFLASH – it doesn’t make the hater look good; it makes the hater look jealous. Who cares if that girl had sex with a guy she really liked and then he forgot all about her and told all his friends? Trust me – that guy bragging about how he played her is NOT attractive. In society, we are taught to view each other as not only competition, but as trash. I will not even begin to blame the media because all they do is feed us what we want to hear, which by the way, is gossip. Yet in real life, vicious gossip regarding other girls lives that we *ahem* know, is completely different. Instead of tearing that girl down to your entire clique, why don’t you evaluate your own self-esteem and think, “wow, she looks hot.”
Feminism is a cause that is taking off. Notably, Emma Watson recently declared herself a feminist at the UN (if you haven’t seen the video, go look it up) and she was flawless in her eloquent speech. It inspired me but at the same time, it sort of depressed me. On a local level, women everywhere have to stop calling other girls explicit nouns that destroy confidence. Queen B’s song, “Flawless” is prime example for words to live by.
As college women, we are all experiencing moments that we will never be able to get back. In a weird way, we are all in it together. Dickson, frat houses, off campus parties or even spring break, you will see girls and guys acting in less than appropriate situations. But food for thought, when that girl shacked with that hottie, did she shack alone, or…? No, that guy was there too. So why is she a whore? What awful act did she commit other than *existing.* GASP, she did nothing? What blasphemy is this? The guy was involved too?! Hold your emotions in, yes, that guy was involved too. This fabulous girl who had a night of drunken debauchery, was indeed not the sole proprietor of this action.
Society preaches self-acceptance, and home girl, you should love yourself first and foremost. So the next time you hear that “so and so slept with so and so and OMG did you see what she wore that night?!” take a step back and think if you would want someone shaming your actions so publicly. As women, we have enough sh!t going on our lives. Please, don’t be the source of anymore drama for another girl. In situations like this, if you shame someone else for their actions, it makes you look like the jealous jolly green giant – not a good look.
Thanks Tina Fey for the everlasting advice, you’re the real MVP.
So, next time you feel that judgmental pang of “gotta go tell everyone about how much of a whore that chick is,” think about both sides of the story and don’t be jealous or catty. Lets keep our claws in until next Halloween ladies.