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Join women across industries for three days of connection, celebration, and growth.
Women seem to have a reputation for being competitive with other females. This view has been around for years, and many women have internalized or been taught these beliefs. This leads to critical issues of female rivalry where one woman utilizes her power to mistreat another woman and bring her down. Women already live in a male-dominated world, and being oppressed by other women is bound to impact them in a significant manner.
Do women seriously compete with each other? Do they try to bring one another down? Even studies have revealed that women display feelings of aggression and mistreat other women. Physical appearance and making themselves look good are one of the reasons behind such behavior. This insecure nature leads to such conduct and forces them to be competitive. Two areas, evolutionary psychology, and feminist psychology, also reveal that women tend to be more competitive around other women. How do women compete with one another?
The word ‘competition’ does not mean a game of basketball or a football match. It has a negative connotation and is not healthy at all. Women have always been referred to as someone who gossip or judge other people by making spiteful remarks, thus causing harm to others.
Society has assigned many labels to women, mainly stemming from stereotypes that have been prevalent for ages. From bitchy to clingy, feminist, immature, and selfish, women are made to feel inadequate. This makes them feel insecure about themselves.
For instance, print and electronic media have also created an image of how an ideal woman should be. When a woman is unable to fit a certain criterion, she tends to develop feelings of insecurity about her own body, appearance, and thoughts. This can result in a comparison leading to an unhealthy competition where she starts feeling like she is not good enough. It is necessary to understand that these norms and roles are programmed into women by society, and it is time they stop giving in to such atrocities.
Such competition results in real issues being neglected and men tending to devalue females. It can be even more exhausting when women tend to pressure one another. Hence, there is a need to change the narrative and build a supportive approach.
One needs to understand that it is a game that nobody can win. When a woman is competitive, she is only justifying society’s judgment of her. On the other hand, when a woman supports another woman and helps create multiple opportunities, it leads to empowerment. Remember, everybody has a life, and they will have different experiences. If a man tells a woman that she is not like others, it shouldn’t be taken as approval or rejection. Each woman has distinctive qualities and likings, which make her different. Instead of creating a competitive approach, it is necessary to be kind to each other and show respect. Nurture female friendships and relationships
Ask yourself the following questions:
You must first ask yourself these questions to understand your own perceptions. It will help you evaluate whether you are trying to be competitive. If yes, then you need to break the cycle and start nurturing female friendships and relationships by supporting each other.
These are some of the practical steps that one can take to break the cycle of rivalry and boost female empowerment:
We can only support each other and break this cycle by coming together. Even if one woman takes this initiative, it can change the life of thousands of others. One can simply create an online group or forum to network and create a communication channel to help members express themselves. It can also be an excellent opportunity to get access to resources and knowledge. A change in mindset can ultimately bring a change in society.