Why Feminism Means You Don’t See Other Women As Your Competition

By Valeria Torres “What a slut”, she mumbled, as a beautiful woman walked in the room. She felt threatened, but she was missing an important point: another woman’s beauty is not the absence of your own. From a young age, women are taught they should always try to compete against each other. In reality, we

Isabel Cara

Why Feminism Means You Don't See Other Women As Your Competition

By Valeria Torres

“What a slut”, she mumbled, as a beautiful woman walked in the room. She felt threatened, but she was missing an important point: another woman’s beauty is not the absence of your own. From a young age, women are taught they should always try to compete against each other. In reality, we should be building each other up. We should stop giving each other dirty looks as we walk past each other and leave destructive jealousy behind. Jealousy is a natural emotion, but we can use it as inspiration.

If you feel threatened by the life choices of another woman, instead of tearing her down, you could take inspiration from her willingness to experiment to break your own mold. If a woman is successful, this does not mean you are not. We are not each other’s rivals, but instead, partners in crime. We are often scrutinized by society because of the choices we make, who we chose to date, how we chose to date, what we wear, what we don’t wear, and how we live our lives. Everyone has been on the receiving end of other people’s judgement, but if women begin supporting each other instead of judging each other we will be stronger than ever. 

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@britandco

Let women live however they want

The way women choose to live their lives and show their bodies (or not) is nobody’s business other than their own. Women should be able to wear a short skirt without being shamed and their reputation being tarnished. Women are usually quick to judge the way other women dress and call them sluts, or trashy. If a woman decides to engage in sexual activity, people think of them as “promiscuous”, but if a man were to engage in the same activities, he would be praised. If a woman decides not to engage in sexual activity, then she’s a prude, and is shamed for this as well. We just can’t win in this society. Every decision we make is put under a microscope.

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@britandco

Competition, concealed insecurity

This unhealthy competition against each other reflects only our own insecurities. We are entitled to this, of course, but it is not the wisest move to act on them. Any mistake is used to judge a woman’s entire life, their character, and integrity. We should stop being hypocritical and start respecting one another. We must get together and stand up against people who slut shame us instead of shaming each other. We must stop thinking other women want to steal our thunder and learn to share it. We all have different talents, different insecurities, we all shine in different ways.

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@tylerfeder

Take this as an invitation to learn and to believe each other when we claim sexual assault or harassment, as we do not do this for attention. We should empathize and understand. We should treat each other with respect and replace the idea of women being catty and problematic with the idea that we are strong, and supportive. Together we stand. I’m not your rival, but your partner in crime.

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