Opening Thoughts:
I literally just wrote this bc i’m passionate & my mind moves a mile a minute I’m not being hyper vigilant about typos and whatever the heck else idc i’m hangry ANYWAYS…
Also this entire subject has interested me for as long as I’ve been on Twitter so this won’t be my only time writing about this
I’m sure we’ve all seen Miss Thang down here, sweeping the TL like a tornado, her rise and fall coming and going as quickly as an intermittent storm. Such is the case for most people’s “viral” moments these days.
I’m not even mad at Shannen Michaela for speaking her truth, because I know many of us have gone through similar political and social changes and phases in life. It’s also interesting to see, again, how quickly people turned against her for the bikini pics that they claim contradict her message - the men probably aren’t mad.
Speaking of men….
This is not an anti-men or feminist page/account. I am not an anti-man girl nor am I a feminist (long story). But I do know male pandering when I see it, and Shannen Michaela is one of many who partake in that trend that will unfortunately never go out of style.
Times change, and the pendulum is always swinging back and forth, slowly but surely. Every 5-10 years, I’d say, the tide turns and a new group of kids rules the sandbox, so to speak. A few years ago, the proverbial rulers of the sandbox were the liberal crowd, and a lot of us hated it. Girls everywhere were rocking their blue-dyed hair, obnoxiously large sceptum piercings, and #MeToo shirts, running up and down the timeline trying to tell other girls why yes, actually, it’s extremely empowering to sleep with as many men as you possibly can and to let them abuse you during sex so you can be The Cool Girl. Even going as far as to popularize modern prostitution (oh, sorry, I meant OnlyFans and Tinder) to be as easily accessible to men as possible. Women suffered, and men were happy.
But then, as previously stated, the pendulum has swung back over to the right. Miss Tradwife Wojak and her band of sundress-clad maidens rules the school now. They’re telling girls everywhere that you too can be The Cool Girl if you relinquish your rights to vote, drive, and basically all other forms of autonomy, as well as dismissing the brave women who came before us that fought to obtain such autonomy. They’re also insisting that you’re a good woman if you relinquish your voice in your relationship/marriage, if you’re hateful, bitter, and xenophobic/prejudiced to people who are different from you, and if you completely change your personality, interests, hobbies, and ideas for the man in your life. As a result, guess what? Women are still suffering, and men are still happy.
Why is the same pattern occurring even though the pendulum swings to vastly different prevailing viewpoints or ideologies? Because we still live in a world where much of the female experience revolves around centering men in our lives. No matter what your political or social views are, this should be done away with. Not in an i-hate-men-pink-pussy-hat way, but in a way that centers yourself in your own life. In 2022, women should not be shaming other women for their choices, regardless of how much you disagree. Your life is yours, and the same goes for everyone else. Go be Miss Radical Feminist if you want to. Go be Miss Trad Wife if you want to. But don’t do it for a man. The men who’s attention you’re vying for is one that doesn’t deserve you, more than likely. Why? Because he spends all day on Twitter, Reddit, and 4Chan not only judging women for their choices, but laughing at the fact that you’ll do anything to fit the ideal that can only exist in his head. Why would you want to attract a man like that?
Let’s also talk briefly about the societal implications of what’s going on here. As the above tweet states, what many have done in terms of completely changing all of their political views virtually overnight is not normal. The level of access we have to social media is not normal (well, it’s the new normal, but it’s not REALLY normal). It really makes you think - why have people’s views changed so much? Is it because they simply were presented with new information and made an updated, informed decision based on the new data they obtained? Or is it because of a desire to belong to the “in-group”? I don’t have an answer. Only time will tell.
I’m on many different sides of Twitter thanks to the diversity of mutuals I have. I witness a lack of authenticity and pandering at a variety of levels on every corner of the internet - from libfems to radfems to trad girls, and everyone in between. I’ve been guilty of it myself! Looking inward is often how one is able to look outward, just sayin’.
Women crave acceptance because people crave acceptance, and that’s normal and shouldn’t be shamed. But we are better than this. We are better than tearing other women down just because they choose a different path, and we are better than losing what makes us unique and authentic because we want to fit in with whatever group is “in” and the men that happen to be watching. Because let’s be clear about something, ladies; no matter what we do as women, men are always watching.
And they’re always laughing.