Mockery erases women’s individuality
If you ask any woman, I am almost certain that she will be able to conjure an instance in which she was ridiculed for her hobbies or interests. As someone who has gone through their fair share of “cringe” phases, I myself am no stranger to being made fun of for and then feeling forced to drop things that previously brought me joy.
Teenage girls are some of the most heavily ridiculed people I know and many are constantly on edge because of it. When you are so heavily criticized and feel like there are constantly people watching or judging you, the chances that you will be open about your interests decrease rapidly. People, often men, will nitpick the things women are interested in or do for their own enjoyment, or to try and cater women to a standard they want them to fit.
However, men are not the only people who ridicule women for their hobbies. Women are often targeted by other women, displaying insecurity and the need to bring down other women to lift themselves up. Internet-dubbed “pick me girls” ostracize women for being interested in makeup, fashion and other “girly” things, while meticulously crafting their own interests to please their male peers.
The internet and social media also contribute to this recurring situation by fostering the rapid change of trends and thus the hobbies that are in style. Ironically, this defeats the purpose of a hobby that is supposed to bring you joy as an individual, not something you do to appeal to the tide of trends. Having hobbies and interests that are no longer in style is now considered “cringe,” forcing people to abandon the things that they enjoy to please internet strangers. I have seen uncountable videos of people, particularly teenage girls, showing pictures and videos of their old selves when they were fully invested in their own interests, calling themselves happier and the “real them” before they were made fun of for liking “out of trend” things. Women are so trained to fit into society and be liked that they will hyper-focus on parts of themselves and change them one at a time until there is seemingly nothing they could be taunted for–an experience I have gone through plenty of times.
The impact of this taunting can be detrimental, especially for young girls who are already notoriously self-conscious about so much of their personality. Ostracization and mockery of personal interests can drag down and diminish self-esteem, leading women to drop hobbies they may love but are ridiculed for enjoying.
