It’s not really a compliment, is it? A true compliment wouldn’t require insulting half the population. It’s empty. What’s wrong with other girls? The comparison is entirely biased towards attraction so why believe it, let alone entertain it.

   I hate this senseless “compliment” because I like other girls. They’re my sisters, my closest friends, my confidants. They hype me up while I put on make up and keep me from crying in the club (and visa versa). They look out for stains and for me. They are my ancestors, my guardian angels, my inspiration for all that I do.

   Women are lovers and warriors, mothers and daughters; they’re clumsy and forgetful, poised and focused; they’re courageous and meek, lionhearted and delicate as a rose. 

   Why not be like other women?

   Today, I realized that I was asking the wrong question. It’s not right to ask “why would someone say this?” When I look as both theorist and critic, I am left with an even simpler question: why is this a compliment?

   This leads to the heart of my disdain.

   He will think it a compliment to say you’re unlike other girls because, even if it for the night, you have his approval, his attention, and the applause of his ego.