She enters the competition. The event? Being different from other girls. The uniform? Jeans instead of dresses. Sneakers instead of heels. "I don't wear makeup" instead of a beat face. "I hang with the guys" instead of female friends. The trophy? Male validation. The prize? Being "one of the boys." The cost? Every other woman. The "I'm not like other girls" girl has built an identity on distinction. She's not "basic." She's not "dramatic." She's not "high maintenance." She's "cool." She's "chill." She's "one of the guys." The guys agree. They love her. They quote her. They date the "other girls" and keep her as proof that women can be "different." And the internalized misogyny! Other women are "too much." Their interests are "shallow." Their conversations are "gossip." Her interests are "deep." Her conversations are "real." The bar for realness is low. It includes sports, video games, and not caring about relationships. The bar for shallowness is anything feminine. Makeup. Fashion. Feelings. Friendship. But the evolution! Some grow out of it. They make female friends. They discover that "other girls" are complex humans. They realize that defining yourself by what you're not is still letting others define you. The "not like other girls" becomes "like all girls, and that's fine." Were you ever "not like other girls"? Or did you side-eye someone who was?
