Hailey vs. Selena is only the latest example
I am definitely one for a social media trend. If something is popular, I will probably participate in it. I bought my 40 oz. Stanley Tumbler, go on hot girl walks with my Lululemon Belt Bag, and overall, the things I buy, and often even my thoughts, can be easily influenced by a social media trend. But one thing I’ll never understand is why people on social media are so quick to attack and hate people, especially women.
I would be a hypocrite if I said I had never done this before. Now, I’m a Taylor Swift lover, but when I was younger, I was a little more of a hater. I don’t even know why I disliked her, all I knew was everyone, including the media, disliked her, so I disliked her too.
Looking back, I realize that a lot of this hate stemmed from the internalized misogyny that so many people had. Men were able to write hundreds of songs about their relationships but when women, especially Taylor Swift, did it, they would be hated for it.
As a society, we have always cut men so much slack while we’ve jumped to hate on women who’ve done the same thing. Women are often shamed for doing the same things that men get praised for doing, and while arguably this is happening less and less, it still happens.
Just over a month ago, the entire internet turned on Hailey Bieber for alleged drama between herself and Selena Gomez. The internet went from loving everything Bieber did, from her skincare brand to her TikToks, to hating her because people were digging up times when she allegedly dissed Gomez.
While the only people that know the truth about the drama are those in their inner circles, everyone took the TikToks detailing their drama and ran with them, canceling Bieber without ever knowing the truth behind the drama. People were making videos hating on Bieber, leaving hate comments on her videos, and taking every single opportunity to tear her down. And while there may be some truth to the drama, as viewers of the drama rather than the actors in it, people on social media turned on Bieber without any real proof or reasoning.
All of the drama between them can likely be linked back to a boy: Justin Bieber. And yet, the women are canceled and Justin will walk away from the situation unscathed. Once again, the media feeds into their internalized misogyny, hates on women, and likely is unfairly canceling yet another woman.
Overall, there are so many examples of society, especially social media, rushing to unfairly cancel women. From Taylor Swift to Hailey Beiber, the media loves to hate on women for no real reason, often allowing men to get away with their bad behavior. As a society, this canceling and turning on women is something that we need to stop accepting, and even feeding into.