Since the dawn of time, women have been expected to act a certain way that only makes us smaller.
For example, when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Academy Awards, everyone thought it was hilarious. When Chappell Roan yelled at the photographer who screamed obscene things at her during the MTV Video Music Awards, people said she was extreme.
When Travis Kelce went to Taylor Swift’s concert, he was celebrated for supporting his girlfriend, but when Swift went to his football games, she was admonished for making everything about her. During the 2025 Super Bowl, people actually booed her the one time she was shown on TV, and it caused the whole stadium to roar in a collective against Swift.
These double standards cripple society, and the examples don’t stop here. Being a woman living in a society built for men means we have to work twice as hard just to be heard.
When men are praised for being assertive, while women are chastised for being bossy; when dad bods are normalized, while women must be under 125 pounds to be sexy.
A man who sleeps with multiple people is considered a stud, but when a woman does it she becomes a slut. “Magic Mike” is sexy, but when women are strippers, they’re societal anomies.
This doesn’t just dehumanize women. There are double standards for both men and women, but the construct of gender stereotypes is something that truly frustrates everyone.
Society dictates specific rules for men that have made them feel as if they must act a certain way to be “man enough.” For example, men can’t cry or show any emotions that make them seem hysterical because that’s too feminine.
When men are seen at parks or taking care of their children, they’re congratulated for it. But when a mother does the same thing, people find ways to belittle her.
Society has set unrealistic standards for women that stem from society’s misogyny, where men generally have more leeway in what they can say and do, whereas women simply can’t. In a man’s world, women must adhere to their rules, while simultaneously avoiding the double standards that force them to be small.
Men can walk around without a shirt on, but it’s socially unacceptable for women not to wear a bra because God forbid our nipples show.
In the article, “It’s Time to Question What We (Think) We Know about Bras,” Katie Jgln wrote, “Otherwise what? Someone will be able to see my nipples? A body part majority of mammals on this planet have? Shocking.”
I have never understood why men can do things that women can’t. Even worse, why do we need to fight just as hard to stop being seen as ridiculous, bossy or hysterical?
In a Reddit post talking about Chappell Roan setting boundaries, one user wrote, “I prefer women being too quick to defend themselves over whatever we’ve spent decades of conditioning to accept. The double standards are as disturbing as they are fascinating.”
There’s always something women do wrong, and it always feels like women simply can’t do anything right, because when we do, it must be because we slept our way to the top, right?
It’s easy for people to forget there would be no world without women, because without us, there would be no mothers, sisters, daughters, wives, friends, aunts, cousins and more.
We have to fight harder to exist in the same realm as men, to talk less, be quieter, keep our emotions in check, wear less revealing clothing to not be distracting, and support our partners without being controlling.
What would happen if we were loud, talked more, wore whatever we wanted, and took up space to be whatever we wanted just because we could?
What would happen If we, as women, stopped letting society dehumanize us and decided to create our own space where we felt like we could just be ourselves.
In workspaces where men just don’t listen to us, it’s time to say it until we’re heard.
Instead of avoiding the color pink because it makes us too feminine, wear those colors hiding in your closets because you can.
Double standards cripple our society, but there’s something inspiring about women like Swift and Roan who actively work against double standards. It’s inspiring to see women with power taking up space and being who they want to be.
In a world created by men, it’s time to create our own spaces that work for us; and it’s beyond time to start taking up space because we can.
