A woman’s gotta do what a woman’s gotta do, right? That’s the old saying isn’t it? It may have been around since the invention of time, but I don’t think anyone really likes to hear that quote when it applies to their own lives. In fact, I think that quote gets thrown around way more than it should. Because quite frankly, I think women as a whole are doing much better than they have in the past and our relationships with each other are improving too—especially amongst those of us who treat each other with respect and dignity.
1) Gossip
I’ve been there, sitting in a room with your friends talking about the latest drama only to realize that you’re the one who’s been doing things wrong. It sucks right? But it helps if you know the disappointing things women do to each other.
She says she’s supportive, but then she talks behind your back. You’ve just shared some personal information with her or talked about something frustrating that happened at work and she turns around and tells all of your secrets to someone else. She doesn’t share any of her wisdom even though she has so much to offer. Every time you ask for advice, she puts up a wall like it’s a test before giving out any information.
2) Competition
It can be disappointing when we do things to each other that we’d never want done to us. The most thought provoking thing is that the things we do to each other are usually the same things we complain about when men do them to us. It’s not always intentional, but often it feels like a competition of sorts. A way of winning by making someone else lose. It’s a type of feminism that’s so deeply rooted in the patriarchy that many women don’t even know they’re doing it to each other. Men play too – to put down another man for his success or an attack on his masculinity. And then there’s subtle attacks – name calling or petty comments about how people look. What are some of the most disappointing and thought provoking things that women do to each other?
3) Comparison
Some of the most disappointing things that women do to each other are: making passive aggressive comments, not supporting each other’s efforts, not being there for one another when we need it the most, not respecting boundaries and giving unsolicited advice.
Each time we do something like this to a woman it is thought provoking because it gets us thinking about what we can do differently in our own lives. It also provokes us to think about what we can do differently in our relationships with each other.
4) Jealousy
Jealousy is one of the most disappointing things that women do to each other. It’s not a new idea, but it seems like it has become more prevalent as of late. I think this is because we have so much information about what other people are doing on social media which can cause us to compare ourselves to others. However, jealousy isn’t good for our mental health and it’s also not good for relationships with other women. In the end, it’s something we should try to avoid when possible and if you find yourself feeling jealous, you need to take a step back from your feelings and analyze why you’re feeling jealous in the first place.
5) Backstabbing
It can be difficult to understand why women backstab each other. It is not a new phenomenon by any stretch of the imagination, but it does have some thought provoking aspects that are worth exploring.
In most cases, the woman who is being backstabbed has her own misguided reasons for doing so as well. People who are susceptible to backstabbing will often use it as a way of getting out their own frustration with someone else. This can happen in situations where they want to hurt someone they dislike or when they feel unappreciated by another person.
All too often, those who get stabbed in the process do not realize what they are doing until it is too late.
6) Cliques
There are many disappointing things women do to each other, but the one that is most prevalent is forming cliques. Cliques are groups of people who typically have a common factor such as age, ethnicity, occupation, or marital status. The problem with cliques is they encourage exclusion. A woman will often choose to hang out with her clique instead of others because she feels more comfortable in the company of those who share similar backgrounds with her. With this comes the temptation to gossip about other women or put them down in order to elevate herself in some way. Gossiping can create false images about people which can lead to friendships being formed on false pretenses and expectations not being met when it matters most.
7) Exclusion
Women often disappoint each other. This is most prevalent in the workplace, where women are judged for their appearance, their salary, and the number of hours they work instead of their qualifications.
Women also disappoint each other by not giving a voice to one another’s ideas or by gossiping about one another behind closed doors.
Other disappointing things women do to each other are making assumptions about what they should look like, how they should act, or what makes them valuable as a woman.
It is not uncommon for women to put expectations on themselves that are too high to live up to, which then leads them to feel disappointed with themselves when they can’t measure up.
8) Betrayal
The most disappointing thing is when a friend betrays you. It’s the absolute worst feeling in the world to know that someone you trusted has turned their back on you. Betrayal is such a serious violation that it can take years to heal from. In fact, some people never fully recover from betrayal. It’s thought provoking because it makes us question what we did wrong, or if we’re even worthy of being loved at all? There are many reasons why one woman might betray another woman, and I’m not going to pretend like I know everything there is about them. But I will say this: women should be honest with each other about how they feel instead of giving hints about how they want the other person to behave so that they get what they want. If your girlfriend does something (or doesn’t do something) for you then please tell her! And don’t judge her for her reactions or the way she feels inside; only she knows how she feels best.
