For those of you who haven't seen it, there's an article that I've seen shared on Facebook both last year and this year entitled 23 Things My Boyfriend Better Not Get Me For Christmas. To put it lightly, this article, originally posted to the website Total Sorority Move, is the rudest thing ever. Out of all of the things you could write about, you chose to write about how ungrateful you would be if your boyfriend got you certain things; 23 certain things in particular, which is extremely picky.
The worst part about this article, though, is that it was posted by an admin of the website. It is absolutely ridiculous that this is the example women in leadership positions are setting for other women. We should be empowering women to be positive role models, but most importantly to not be putting others down, just like you did to boyfriends everywhere who may have gotten these gifts thinking with their whole hearts that they were doing something nice (which they were, for your information). It's also a little bit sad that you are portraying srat girls in such a condescending and greedy way. My best friend is in a sorority at her school and they are a fantastic group. They've done so much for their community, including raising a lot of awareness around the issues of domestic violence. THAT's an ACTUAL Sorority Move.
I'm not saying that it's not okay to have preferences or specifics that you want. In fact, telling your boyfriend what you actually want may be a relief to them, allowing them to not have to worry if they're living up to the standards of people like you, who are so hard to please. Posting about what you DON'T want, though, is just ridiculously negative and disheartening to those guys out there who are trying hard to do what's right.
Along with that, most of the things on this list are things that many girls would actually enjoy and appreciate so much. In order to prove this, I am going to post some of the list, along with my comments, below. This should also save you any embarrassment from having your name and email out there for anyone to complain to/about you, since it's all attached to your article. Here goes nothing. This is MY Actual (not so) Sorority Move:
"Bath and Body Works.: I’m going to get enough of this from literally all of my acquaintances. Just don’t do it."
So, maybe I'm a tad biased with this one since I worked at Bath and Body Works and have an ongoing collection of their stuff, but I seriously love Bath and Body Works. Their lotions work really well on dry hands in the winter, and their body scrubs smell fantastic. On top of that, B&BW is not necessarily the cheapest place to buy things at. He wouldn't spend that much money if he didn't care.
"An engagement ring: Definitely buy me this, but if you propose instead of getting me a real gift, I will actually kill you."
Woah, woah, woah. This is seriously ungrateful. I mean, yeah, if you haven't been dating for very long, this present may be a surprise, but for those who are ready for it, making each other permanently a part of each other's lives can be the greatest gift of all. What better gift, for those who are ready for it of course, than to basically give them an eternal "I love you"? These things are CERTAINLY not inexpensive either, and it's something that a guy stresses over so much. You should ALWAYS be grateful for this.
"Any sort of ring: What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?
Okay, so above you said, "Definitely buy me [an engagement ring]', and now you're saying to not buy any ring at all....funny.
"….or any kind of clothing at all: If you think I’m really that size, it’s over."
Genuinely, I'm terrible at guessing sizes, so I sympathize when a guy is looking to buy that one shirt his girlfriend wants, but she won't tell him what her size is because she may be embarrassed. And this is, again, another case of saying, "I think you would look beautiful in that".
"Anything that can’t be exchanged for store credit: Let’s be honest, I didn’t start dating you for your style."
So basically, to you, money is worth more than the thought he put into getting you that gift...awesome.
"A gift card: Good to know that two years’ worth of love and affection is worth exactly $50 from Target."
First of all - $50 is actually a lot. Second - yeah, okay, it's not the most creative thing to get someone, but with girls as picky as you out there, it may just be what he feels he has to resort to. Lastly - there is no apostrophe at the end of the word "years".
"Something handmade: I mean, you can get me this, but you’d better get me a real present too, if you know what I mean."
Something that is unique and made completely out of the goodness of his heart isn't a real gift? Seems like the realest to me. You can't get that anywhere else!
"A picture: Trust me, I stalk you on Facebook every day. I don’t need this."
He would be getting this for you if he was always happy to see you and thought you'd feel the same way. Apparently not.
"Tiffany: IfI have to post a chain-link heart bracelet on Insta, I will literally die."
Do you know how expensive Tiffany & Co. is?! Do you understand that girls envy other girls with Tiffany anything?! And you seriously have the nerve to not want or be willing to accept it just because you don't want to have to post about it on insta....take a minute and ask yourself how you sunk this low. It doesn't get much lower.
"Anything sports related: Yes, we told you we like sports. No, we actually don’t like sports."
Then don't lie.
"Stuffed animals: Any gift that could reasonably also be given to a five-year-old should never apply."
Stuffed animals really aren't given to girls because the guy sees them as a five-year-old. They're given because they want to make sure the girl always has something warm and nice to cuddle with. They want you to always feel good and loved.
"Nothing: We’re over.."
Some people really can't afford the expensive Christmas that you are expecting...I truly do just live by the words "Your presence is a present enough", and I think those are words that we all can take a little bit of a lesson from. Christmas is about giving to others, not receiving from others. Remember that.
For all srats out there, we know you aren't all like this. We encourage you on your path of becoming beautiful and confident young leaders, on the inside and out.
Love, ΣMX