Why Can't Girls Enjoy Anything Without Being Criticized?
Girls into makeup are shallow and self-absorbed. Girls wearing leggings and drinking Starbucks are basic. Girls who play video games do it for male attention. You’re wearing a Led Zeppelin t-shirt? Name three songs, quickly.
When it comes to hobbies and interests, both boys and girls find ways to belittle other girls and the things they love. Most concerning is the lack of conversation about this—young adults rarely even know where these negative feelings about girls come from, and they don’t seem to want to know either. So let’s start talking about internalized misogyny.
The larger issue behind all of this is the idea that misogyny is something overt, like a man who says a woman belongs in the kitchen. Unfortunately, it isn’t always so black and white. In recent years, the phrase that practically spells out internalized misogyny—“I’m not like other girls”—has rightfully come under fire for implying that being like other girls is a bad thing. Other than that, not much progress has been made.
Based on my own personal experience, I would bet every girl has been ridiculed for some harmless thing she enjoyed. Loving One Direction in middle school practically painted a target on my back, as both boys and girls felt the need to inform me on how “gay” they were—brownie points for the added homophobia—or how much their music sucked. My obsession with Marvel movies either made me a fake fan in the eyes of boys, or a “pick-me girl” to other girls. It was exhausting to have every little thing I enjoyed picked apart until I felt unbelievably insecure about it. I learned to keep my interests to myself, unless explicitly asked.
Source: We Heart It
Girls brave enough to share their hobbies on social media endure their fair share of judgment. Scrolling through the skater girl hashtag on TikTok produced exactly what I expected—degrading comments from boys or other girls commenting about the attention the girl receives from boys. The most positive comment on one video of a girl skating reads, “Finally a good girl skater,” because back-handed compliments that insult other girls was the best this man could come up with.
The top comments on another video of a girl skateboarding focus on the boys watching her in the background, or begging to see a boy’s reaction to her skill, because a girl in a male-dominated sport only matters based on how much male attention or respect she might receive. Loren Schaffer clapped back to a comment left on one of her videos that read, “Get tf outta the skatepark posers,” by posting a spectacular video of her sister (who has stage four cancer) skating while Loren narrates, calling out the hypocrisy and misogyny.
The fact of the matter is, our culture has made it all too easy to insult girls. If you like something popular, you’re basic; if you like something niche, you’re a try-hard. I hope this call-out encourages girls to continue doing whatever makes them happy, and helps others realize they should probably stop hating on girls for no good reason.