In recent years, there has been a huge upsurge of feminist content all over the media, and don’t get me wrong, this is an amazing, empowering thing. But at some point, it’s almost suffocating.

You know that one girl in T.V. shows or movies that just won’t stop talking. The feminist lead. The almighty female progressive representation. The gender diversity whose entire character is that she is, in fact, a girl. The unrealistic view of how people think about and see women in society. The “breaking the status quo” characters that are supposedly making firsts in progress to full inclusion.

These characters just so happen to separate themselves more from the general population despite their attempts to play the quirky, relatable, perfect girl. The #girly, #girlboss figures in movies and TV shows meant to encourage young girls to do whatever their heart desires, no matter their gender–but just end up discouraging the viewers to be like them because they are disliked for some reason.

This trope, though, has manifested into something more toxic. The influence of media portraying women in the ways aforementioned has normalized a mindset in some that women cannot be critiqued or questioned, for it would be sexist to say something contradicting what she is doing. This is the point at which “girlbossing” becomes a toxic trait. When people cannot treat women with the same respect and demeanor as they would treat any equal because they are suddenly in the wrong by opposing them.

I can’t stand these characters. They set the expectation that standing out as a woman in male-dominated fields is such a feat, a thing that has never been done before. These expectations turn the pursuit of interests into a commendable, awardable achievement for  women who could just happen to have an interest uncommon for women. While it is good to publicize notable achievements, there is a point to which it becomes overwhelming to see how a woman doing what she wants to do has become such an outstanding thing.

 I feel there is a certain air held around women in male-dominated fields like science, math, engineering, and anything else of the sort. It shouts “Hey! Look at me! I’m doing something because not enough women do it!” Rather than for the personal reasons of just finding interests in a field they enjoy.

Now, it might be crazy to say this, but gender bias is something we need to get over. Women should be able to go into, say, engineering without being showered with overreactions of their onlookers in seeing a woman in a predominantly male field. 

That being said, Everyone should be free to pursue what they want–to become the person they want to be–without the judgment from others or harbored self-entitlement they don’t let the people around them forget.