notlikeothergirls

It seems like every movie and tv show these days stars a girl who’s supposed to be “not like other girls”. These characters always showcase one trait. Whether it’s the fact that they aren’t traditionally feminine, they have a little more meat on their bones, they stand a head taller than a lot of those around them, they’re introverted and read books. Whatever it is, it’s always one thing that defines them. It’s like people can only have one personality trait or one characteristic like the people in that stupid book trilogy Divergent. Too many of these shows and movies act like no one can be more than the thing that defines them. If you’re usually in jeans and boots and take woodshop, you can’t also wear makeup or like the color pink. If you happen to be chubbier as a person, you can’t feel good in your skin and dress in something that doesn’t hide your body. You like reading? Well then you absolutely have to hate computers and everything they stand for because only losers rely on WIFI. 
The oddest thing about this whole “not like other girls” buffoonery is that only one person, the main person, can have the traits that define them. No one else can be tall, or chubby, or introverted, or ultra-feminine. Only the one person the story is about.
It’s such a conflicting message to send out to people. It puts us all in a box and if we leave that box, we’ve defiled ourselves as humans. People shouldn’t be afraid to look dainty, have a social personality, read, and enjoy rugby lest they end up being a  “girly-girl”, “popular girl”, “quiet girl”, and “sporty girl” rolled into one person. Because from what we’re shown, that’s a bad thing. What a bucket of absolute rubbish. It’s no way to get the viewer to relate to the protagonist whatsoever. The folks behind these productions give these characters one trait which simultaneously relates to the viewing audience whilst also alienating them if they enjoy anything outside said trait. 
When I was a wee child, I tried incredibly hard to be a “tomboy” because people made fun of girls for being “too much like girls”. I felt awkward if I ever wore pink, or skirts, or gods forbid, told anyone that I played with dolls. I liked to wear frilly dresses just as much as I liked to wear jean cutoffs but it felt as though I always needed to choose between one or the other. ‘Tis something I struggle with even until this day. I often look like a homeless lumberjack, yet I enjoy ballet. I’m an awkward introvert yet I love performing in dance shows. I’m a thick, busty lady who enjoys a form fitting prom dress that shows my figure just as much as a men’s t-shirt that hides the fact I have oversized boobs. I don’t have to be one or the other. No one does. Yet the cursed media we’re surrounded with keeps forcing these unnecessary choices down our throats. It goofs a person up; now I’m frequently uncomfortable in everything I do because it doesn’t match the personality vibe the film industry has assigned to me. Nobody fits into just one category of anything. We are complex beings with layers and intricacies in what makes each of us our own person. And honestly, who are these so-called “other girls” and why are we individuals trying to be the opposite but accuse everyone around us of being just like them? It leads to such a vile, toxic culture that separates people from one another. 
I would just ask if we humans, despite being shown these flat, supposed inspirations for the young generations, bear in mind that not one thing defines who we are. People should embrace both their differences and similarities with those around them, for they are what connects us and expands our horizons.