The "mean girl" is a product of capitalism

[peppaistired]

I've been thinking about this for quite a while now. I am a feminist, I love women, I am a woman myself. I understand the battles we have to go through every day just for being a women. I defend women's position everywhere. However, there is one type of woman I cannot defend: the "mean girl".

Most women know exactly what I'm talking about. If you were a girl, a teenager, work with a group of women at work, you know the type of woman I'm talking about.

The one who makes you believe is your friend but back stabs you as soon as you leave the room. The one who bullies you in subtle ways so you never really know where you're standing with her. The one who's very charming with you in public, however, when the two of you are alone, she tells you horrible things. The one who looks down on you because you're not as pretty, as clever or as glamorous as her. The one who laughs at you because you're a bit clumsy, or naive, or doesn't know how to play the mean girl game as she does. The one who manipulates, cajoles, charms, has no back bone, but always seems to get away with it.

I thought and thought: "Where does this type of woman come from? How does she develop from being the manipulative girl to the boss from hell when she becomes an adult?

The more I thought, the more it seems to me that the mean girl is capitalism's bad smurfette. She's made believe from an early age that she's a princess. She consumes all that capitalism offers to her from a very early age with great delight and without much thought. She becomes a caricature of a woman from an early age, pursuing the ideal of the top model, the blonde celebrity, the glamorous girl, the corporate pawn, with a busy social life and a man to match. Of course, mean girls come in all shapes and packages, but there's something quite cruel and shallow about her, something that doesn't seem to be on women's side, quite the opposite. She always seems to have a gang of similar ones on her side, these are rarely lone fighters.

As societies become more industrialized, competitive, and corporate in values and ethos, it seems to me that this kind of woman/girl seems to thrive in it. And there's nothing to stop her.

These women are so detached from the things that make us wholesome, strong, and nurturing. There are a by product of a society that has gone wrong, somewhere along the way.

Women are so detached these days from areas of life that are predominantly female: the arts, physical and emotional expression, understanding of the human soul, nature and its circles. All the things that make us feel part of a fertile world of emotions, and feelings, and thoughts. A world where we plant our seeds and look after our children, give life and love to all others around us.

Women are great and have great potential for love, creativity and nurture. Capitalism in its stubborn chase of money, power and competitiveness is destroying little by little our female assets and powers. And then, instead of honest, wholesome, thinking, and feeling women, we get the toxic mean girls everywhere, spreading their nastiness, because it's the only way she can feel powerful in a world that has gone completely wrong for the female soul and spirit.

Feminism is an expression of female solidarity.

But I agree, in many ways female bosses, doctors, any other women in authority or any woman who acts in a role that has any influence over other women, should not be mean. Of course it is detrimental. Perhaps more so because they are women, but this is only because we have been conditioned to believe that A)male violence and authority is natural, goes unquestioned and is largely given structural analysis B) women are socialised to be caring and nurturing (what's more we think its in their nature) so that any meanness we encounter from other women is taken to be directed at us personally. We internalise this as a fault on our part, not to fit it, not be good enough etc, This is not the fault of individual women and far more complex than just saying teach women to be sisterly. Not sure if that is articulated clearly but I am trying to multi-task! not something that comes naturally!

But I think the notion of a "mean girl" as the nastiest, worst thing anyone can ever have the misfortune to come across is problematic. They don't rape or maim or kill, as a rule. Don't start wars

^ this, absolutely. They are as much subjugated and victim to capitalism and patriarchy as the rest of us.

So women should all be sugar spice and things nice?

Imagine. There was me thinking I could be complex ball of emotion picking and choosing how to feel at any given moment as a sentient human. But no, I must actually be some stepfordesque type.

Op you might think this mean. I'd call it tired, frustrated with a soupçon of sarcasm. I was perfectly lovely to the cold caller two secs ago. Moods change. No person is one thing.

I think most 'mean' people are so because capitalism rewards such traits, not sure it's exclusive to women
And I think capitalism strongly reinforces patriarchy (and vice versa)