Who Here Has Ever Been Called A Slut?

Hey there lovelies!

Now, as anyone who knows me in real life can attest, one of my favourite movies is Mean Girls, the 2004 teen comedy written by Tina Fey. For me, it was like how I experience real high school life with a Hollywood touch. Mean girls, "The Plastics" rule North Shore High School with gossip and social humiliation (real life). Eventually brought to justice by a lovable band of misfits, teaching everyone a valuble lesson about how to treat others, and making Northshore a pleasant place to learn (the Hollywood touch). Apparently my not-so-secret obsession with this movie is something I share with many other young women - but I have to wonder if some people completely miss the point of this movie.

To me, the key "message" to take away from this movie is that young women spend far too much time being critical of other women (as well as themselves) and trying to tear other individuals, when we should be supporting and encouraging each other. Instead of talking about each other behind our backs we should directly confront each other with our problems. Being beautiful, socially savvy and fashionable does not excuse you from treating the people around you like a human being. And wasting your energy trying to ruin another person's happiness will never make you happy.

So, why do young women still want to be "The Plastics"? When I saw Mean Girls in the cinemas, I walked out and in the line for the bathroom heard a group of girls my age having a conversation about how they were "totally Plastic material", and "how great it would be to be The Plastics." And it seems I keep hearing that conversation, even years after the movie came out. I mean, hang on a minute - did we all watch the same movie? You want to be the horrible girls that everyone hated? You want to be bitchy, and backstabbing, and have people dislike you so much that they give you footcream instead of facewash? But I know that isn't what young women are thinking about when they say these things. No matter how mean they are, girls like "The Plastics" are still a symbol of glamour, beauty, money and power. All of which are things that young women are told they need, or need to be in order to live a successful life. Unfortunately, I also think that young women are encouraged to be mean to one another, and tearing other women down to make ourselves feel better appears to be a common coping strategy.

It needs to stop. Now.
Throughout my high school years, and even into the present day, most of the bullying I have experienced has come from other young women. 9 times out of 10, if someone was calling me fat, or ugly, or spreading rumours about me, it was another female. And dare I say it, 10 times out of 1o, if someone was calling me a slut it was another girl. But on the flip side, some of the most caring and compassionate friends I have are also young women. We have the capacity to support each other in unimaginable ways - so why are we so often mean to each other? I think it does take a strong person to have amazing friends without feeling like we are somehow lacking. But then, that hits at the root of the problem. I feel that the women who are meanest to each other are usually the ones who are meanest to themselves. All of the nastiness doesn't really help anyone though. In the eternally wise words of Lindsay Lohan's character Cady:

"Calling somebody else fat won't make you any skinnier. Calling someone stupid doesn't make you any smarter. And ruining Regina George's life definitely didn't make me any happier. All you can do in life is try to solve the problem in front of you."

I want you to try something for me. Next time you go to trash talk another woman, whether it is one of your friends, or a celebrity, make a note of it. Why are you saying someting nasty about her? Does she deserve what you are saying about them? Do you even know the person you're saying the nasty thing about? Why do you feel the need to critisise her? How do you feel about yourself when you see, or hear about this person? Think about these things before you say what you were going to say. It may turn out that you didn't need to say it at all. Maybe you were having a bad day, or feeling down, and that turned into lashing out at this person. Whatever the case, once you realise you're doing it then you can fix the problem. Maybe all of us supporting each other, and accepting our difference and flaws is a long way off - but stopping the meaness may be the first step towards making Girl World a more pleasant place for all of us.

If anyone needs me, I'll be over sitting with the Art Freaks.

Until next time, xo.