The Ultimate Act of Rebellion

Female friendship is the ultimate act of rebellion.

It seems like everywhere I turn, I see pictures of Taylor Swift and her supermodel “squad” of girlfriends traipsing around Los Angeles in their designer crop tops and silken hair, ready and waiting for an assault of photogs. People are a LIL obsessed with this woman and her seemingly perfect girlfriends.

But, as much as people are infatuated with Tay Tay and her gal-pals, as many people love to hate on T-Swift and her girl gang. They’re too pretty. They’re too thin. They’re too famous. They’re too whatever. While there is certainly legitimacy to these criticisms, I'm left asking, do men get this kind of criticism about their friendships?

Left to their own devices, men get to “be” with their dude-friends. Nobody is telling Seth Rogan and James Franco that their #squadgoals are too exclusive, or Ben Affleck and Matt Damen that they are too good-looking and really need to chill out on the selfies. DOES NOT HAPPEN.

Meanwhile, women are made to feel pressure that they don’t have enough friends, that their friends aren’t pretty enough or prestigious enough or successful enough. I am not gonna lie, folks, it just feels like we can’t win. When it comes to female friendships, the media is going to spin it against women—No. Matter. What. So you know what I say? Fuck it.

My friendships are not, nor will they ever be, based on what some rando says they should look like. My friendships have (and will be) some of the most important relationships of my life. They’ve taken years to develop, forged over many experiences—good and bad. These women (and some men too!) are not mere accessories. I don’t wear them like my latest H&M purchase (a banana leaf dress, in case you were wondering), then rotate them out for something new next season. I love and appreciate my girlfriends like I love and appreciate my husband and my dog. They are all essential to my well-being and happiness.

In the patriarchy’s long history of dictating how women should act (super submissive and also Sheryl Sandberg), what we should wear (a bikini and also a full-length turtleneck unitard), and what we should say (“I’m a 30 year old virgin and also coincidentally amazing in bed!”), female friendship is the ultimate act of rebellion. I think that, secretly, men knew that if women were able to freely work, build, play, and win together, we might actually take over the world. Accordingly, my call to you is to join me in this ultimate act of rebellion, and take up your arms…and give your girlfriends a hug!