You’re Not Like Other Girls
The not like other girls trope has been around as long as I can remember. In most teen flicks the female lead is different, she likes books but hates drama, she can change a tire but you would never catch her in heels, she's carefree and an outcast, but deep and well-rounded. Boys turn to their friends and say “Wow she’s not like other girls”. This seems pretty harmless, an innocent compliment, but it’s rooted in sexism. Typically, who are the other girls that are so different from our protagonist? The other girls are everything feminine. They are boy-obsessed, over-the-top drama queens. This trope does not exist without putting other women, besides the main character, down. In order for our main female character to be the protagonist all other women are seen as antagonists in the story line.
Mean Girls is a perfect example of this. Cady, the protagonist, loves math and could care less about what she wears. She’s good hearted and bright. Regina, the antagonist, loves mini skirts, heels, and everything pink. She’s an awful person and couldn’t care less about anyone but herself. Cady can’t be multi-dimensional, complicated, and interesting without the “other girl” being vain, shallow, and superficial. This only reinforces the idea that women are one-dimensional and overall not taken seriously, it associates femininity with negativity, and cultivates competition between women. There is nothing wrong with loving pink, sparkles, shoes, shopping, and makeup, so why are they immediately attributed to these awful characters? It teaches young women that being feminine and being a deep and good person are mutually exclusive, this is an incredibly harmful and sexist stereotype. But this trope exists beyond typical teen flicks, from Mulan to The Devil Wears Prada, it exists in books, music, everywhere, it’s almost inescapable. Imagine as a young girl you love everything girly until you watch Cinderella Story and see being girly also means you are an awful person, so you begin to hate everything associated with being girly including other girls. Can you see how this is damaging?
So next time you want to tell a girl how special and important they are, please please please think of something other than telling her she isn’t like ‘other girls'.
