Most girls today are at least a little bit feminist. They hold the belief that a woman can make choices regarding career paths, marriage, and children without the societal expectation that she undisputedly become a housewife. They think that women deserve the freedoms and liberties appointed to men, and they fight for those rights if they are being withheld; however, are they truly supporting their gender? Here is where I begin to doubt that most girls are actually pro-gender equality and not just pro-themselves.

All over social media, in texts, and in person, girls are tearing each other down. They use words like ‘slut’, ‘fat’, and ‘fake’ to shame each other into being self-conscious. How is it productive to tear anyone down that way? For the most part, tearing down famous celebrities or flame-texting some girl seems to boost the aggressor’s confidence, but does causing other people to doubt themselves seem like something to feel good about? I won’t pretend I haven’t made judgments about another girl or used those words, but recently, I’ve thought about it more in depth. If women as a whole don’t start respecting and loving each other enough to stop all the hate, then how do we expect anyone to treat us as equals?

This goes for what women say towards men too. If we really want to be treated as equals, then we need to stop seeing men as objects. Sometimes girls are just as bad as boys when they say, “Oh, he’s so hot!” or comment on an actor’s abs. Why is it any more sexist for a man to comment on a woman’s breasts than it is for a woman to comment on a man’s body? If we wish to stop being objectified by men, then women shouldn’t objectify men either.

Equality for all or equality for none.