Between outfit choice, etiquette, work and partying, double standards exist everywhere. We have all seen them in our daily lives.
Double standards can be found in all forms. From women to men, our culture is used to dealing with gender role stereotypes.
When men post workout pictures, or any “selfie” for that matter, it is shamed. There is some intense social standard that if a man posts a picture alone he is a “tool.”
However, with girls it is quite the opposite.
Girls can post pictures with pounds of makeup, hardly any clothes on and extreme editing and are still viewed as “bad” or “sexy.”
How is this justified?
The standards are compared in just the opposite way as well.
If a guy sleeps with a lot of women he is idolized and admired.
Are men to blame for shaming women? Why are there double standards?
Girls are even guilty of falling for these types of men.
On the contrary, if a woman sleeps with many men, she is slut-shamed and criticized.
The stereotype of “all men are pigs” comes into play, but there are girls who walk around in close to nothing and cheat on their boyfriends everyday.
Girls are the first to claim chivalry is dead, but they are also the first ones to dance on a table and twerk upside down in public.
How can we as women expect to find gentlemen if we cannot act like ladies ourselves.
How is this acceptable?
Does it actually matter?
The world we live in today allows women to be just as independent as men. We can make our own success just as much as they can make theirs. So why in 2015 is there still a social stigma about how each gender should act? When will society break these confusing gender roles and settle with people having various personalities without involving their sex?
My answer: stop worrying about what everyone else thinks.
Be your own person and do what you believe is right. Society and your “followers” should never dictate the sort of person you are. If you are a conservative person, do not conform to crop tops and shots. If you like to party, embrace it and buy another drink.
If you are a woman, it is okay to be ambitious and opinionated.
If you are man, it is also okay to be passive and quiet. We are no longer in an era where our gender defines who we are. Those who break the mold of traditional stereotypes are the ones who find themselves as the most successful.
We focus so much on what other people think that we forget what is inside. After all, that is what truly matters.
