How many times has this happened to you? You’re out with your friends having a good time, when suddenly your eyes all land on a woman walking by wearing clothes that leave little up to the imagination. Your conversation instantly focuses on her, making comments and snickering about her outfit while you assume things about her promiscuity. But the fact of the matter is, you don’t know this woman. You don’t know anything about her life other than the clothes she decided to put on before she left her house that night. Clothes that don’t have the power to define someone. It’s no secret that women tend to be gossipy, petty to no end, and slightly judgy, but it’s time to stop putting other women down for what they decide to put on their bodies and more importantly–– what they decide to do with their bodies.

Ms. Norbury, from the movie "Mean Girls," is right. When women decide it’s OK to call each other degrading names, it only gives men the “OK” to do it as well which only sets feminism back about 50 years. If we want men to stop putting us down, treating us as less than we are and give us the respect that we so rightly deserve (not claiming that all men do this) then we’ve got to stop putting each other down first. It’s important to remember that we’re all in charge and can do what we please with our own bodies.

While one woman may want to sleep with every other guy she meets, another may want to save herself for marriage. No one has the right to deem either of these lifestyles as bad. It’s completely up to someone how they decide to go about living their lives. You wouldn’t want another person calling you a “prude” for deciding to wait to have sex just as much as the woman sleeping around doesn’t want to be called “sleazy.” And who created the notion that showing a little bit of cleavage qualifies you as a slut? Since when was the act of wearing a low cut shirt a universal signal that meant you’ve slept with numerous men? When First Lady Michelle Obama wears a dress that shows off a bit of cleavage, I don’t see anyone making assumptions about her private life. Applaud her on her accomplishments and what she’s achieved over the last few years. We don’t tear her down for what she decided to wear that day. It’s time to start doing the same with each other.

So when you see a woman walking down the sidewalk wearing a short skirt and a low cut shirt, maybe hold off on whispering about her to your friends and judging her based on what she’s wearing. Let’s stop tearing each other down for how we decide to live our lives and instead build each other up with compliments, kind words, and taking pride in one another’s accomplishments.

If we want to be viewed as equal to men, we’ve got to start looking at each other as equals first.