Girls vs. Girls
I think one of the most devstating phenomenons between women is this idea of competetion that begins at a very young age. From about middle school on we are trained to compete with one another: to be the prettiest, the skinniest, the most popular, have the most boyfriends etc. And while we are busy trying to attain all these goals that oure competetion can't we are creating a wider and wider gap that is going to be nearly impossibly to bridge. I understand that the idea of sisterhood can be a little over played and can aim to homogenize a group of women, based on their phsical or sexual attributes, but I think there is a level of connectedness that we can create in our differences that will be ncessary in the fight against a subordinated position in the world.
The Mean girls movie was about just this...it showed how viscious girls really can be in the name of popularity. It was a dog eat dog world in the movie much in the way it is in hallways across america. Through our actions we are perpetuating a never ending cycle of discontinuity, as well as our own subordination because we are continually living up to these bitchy stereotypes attributed to us by others, namely the opposite sex. It is as though this behavior is used to entertainment purposes, no matter what size the audience, and in any attempt to gian some of that attention girls are willing to eat their own. Charm School, Flavor of Love, Real World, THe Inferno and the list goes on, all exhibit examples this type of behaviro that is attached to the female identity, and is sending a message to girls and young women, that the only way tog et ahead in the world is to defend yourselves while hurting other (women.)
Abuse like this leads to self-hatred and perpetuates the idea that the only way to avoid being the victim is being the perpetratior, where it is necessary to be thin and beautiful and heterosexual, otherwise you have no other choice but to identify with the "otherness" attributed to any other characteristc that doesn't fit into that feminine box we are so readily getting placed into. So there are many steps to terminate our own behavior as well as eliminate the expectations of our gender and therefore our identity. WE need to reclaim our own identity as women and not live up to these inappropriate standards set forth for us by men and broader patriarchal social systems.