As it is probably clear, female empowerment is a very important part of feminism. It is those day-to-day interactions and attitude that spread the message that we are all in this together. I mean, how are we supposed to prove we are as important as men if we’re not even on the same team? When girls take part in slut shaming, bullying another girl¹, or being against feminism in any way (most likely because of lack of education on what it is– see: “What is feminism?”), they push us down and reinforce double standards that are better off broken. I went into more detail on the ways girls can be counterproductive to the feminist movement in “How judging girls is sexist”, but now I will be discussing the exact opposite: empowerment.

The most important thing to note is that not everyone feels the most empowered by the same things. If you do not take this into account, you could be dragging some women down instead of lifting them up. For example, many women feel empowered by not shaving their legs or underarms. They are the most comfortable without conforming to society’s expectations! Yay! But that doesn’t mean women who do shave can’t be feminists. The important thing is that we each make decisions for ourselves and not based on what is expected of us. Another example: I know plenty of women and girls who feel super confident and good about themselves when they wear tighter, more revealing clothing. Hooray! They have found their style and it makes them feel good about themselves! But others might feel more comfortable with clothing that is baggier or has more coverage. Neither of these groups of women should be put down for how they want to express themselves! And if you prefer to dress one of these ways, there is no reason to shame anyone who does it differently. We are all just trying to figure out what makes us feel like the best version of ourselves. No one should be punished for that!

A lot of the time, the bashing down of other girls happens out of jealousy. Someone who is not as confident about their own body is likely to mock another girl’s style choice because they wish they had her confidence. This comes from the instinct that women have to compete with one another… which is very un-empowering. Once we get to a point in which we can instinctively cheer each other on, there will be no need to bash each other out of defense. It all starts with spreading positivity! Let’s pave the way for girls supporting girls to be the norm.

¹Of course bullying boys is also a very important problem, but it is not a feminist issue and girls bullying girls is more common.²

²Rutgers University. “Teen girls more vulnerable to bullying than boys.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 7 May 2019. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190507110457.htm>.