Back in college I thought it was cool that all my friends were dudes. It was like I had won some kind of «acceptance» award and was different than some of the women living at the dorm. Really, we just became friends because I had a nasty habit of chain smoking and had social anxiety that stopped me from making meaningful friendships with women. 

While that phase didn’t last long (how many true friendships can be based on mutual smoke breaks?) it became apparent that this type of thinking was pretty prevalent amongst my peers. The «I’m not like other girls» sentiment started to rub me the wrong way. Because it was an obvious swipe at women who I might not have stuff in common with. And for some people who I’d gone to school with, it was the product of resentment that «basic» women got attention, while «quirky» intellectual types with an affinity for obscure music were pretty much left alone. 

This backwards way of thinking is definitely a kind of internalized misogyny. Constantly comparing oneself to others isn’t a way to make people appreciate you – it’s a way to reveal how desperately insecure you are. And while we feel sorry for people who haven’t figured that out, their cringeposts, as you can see here, are the stuff of schadenfreude-filled dreams.