Women have been judged since the beginning of time for being themselves, having fun, embracing their bodies and expressing their sexuality, while boys are cheered on for doing all the same things.
It’s 2016, and women are still being held to higher standards than their male counterparts.
If we care too little about our appearance, we’re judged. If we care too much about our appearance, we’re judged.
Women are supposed to look fresh-faced as if they just rolled out of bed, but they can’t actually show up somewhere after just rolling out of bed like guys do. Women have to master the art of the “no-makeup makeup” look while guys can wear the same bid day shirt three days in a row and face no judgement.
If women abstain from sex, they’re prudes. If they have too much sex, they’re sluts.
Guys can openly talk about how many sexual partners they’ve had and how much they enjoy sex, but God forbid a woman does the same. If women have too many sexual partners, it’s shameful, but guys are celebrated for it because it’s “in their nature.”
Guys are so obsessed with the number of sexual partners their girlfriends have had before them because of their fragile masculinity. Men are afraid they’ll never be able to measure up to past partners.
Though it’s not portrayed that much in the media, men often have the same insecurities as women. If their significant other goes out to a party with friends, they fear they’ll cheat.
It becomes confusing because if women don’t go out to parties or clubs, they’re boring. But according to people on social media, women who go out to parties aren’t deserving of a relationship.
Most college students celebrate Halloween the same way. We don’t go door to door getting candy from strangers. We get dressed up in costumes, go out and dance with strangers.
With the harsh standards that women are held to, I wasn’t surprised Halloween night when I got on Twitter and Instagram to see posts like, “If your girl isn’t at a party tonight, wife her.”
If you don’t want “your girl” to have fun and express herself, you should let her go because she deserves better.
Being able to say all these things about women has been normalized by mainstream media and popular culture. It’s socially acceptable for women to be restrained and bullied based on these sexist beliefs, and that’s unfair.
Little girls are growing up in a society that tells them it’s OK for boys to degrade them and call them names because it means they have a crush on them. They grow into young women who think it’s OK to be mistreated by males because it’s what they’ve been taught to accept.
It’s up to our generation to end the sexism and discrimination that girls face in every aspect of life, whether it be at school, work or even at home.
Brianna Rhymes is a 19-year-old mass communication sophomore from New Iberia, Louisiana.