A double standard is defined as “a set of principles that applies differently and usually more rigorously to one group of people or circumstances than to another.” Double standards divide people.
It is a form of hypocrisy that treats some topics as war zones. It does not only exist on one side of anything. Double standards arise in everything from beauty, to religion and politics.
Women know the struggle on either end of the spectrum of double standards. Sometimes, they even swing the double-edged sword at the opposing side. This topic does not only apply to women — it applies to everyone.
Some women say they can do anything a man can. However, as soon as a man feels like doing something typically thought of as feminine like makeup, he is ridiculous. People feel the need to tell him that he is stepping into a world in which he does not belong.
If you switched out the “him” for “her,” and the “he” for “she,” in the last sentence, it would seem eerily familiar. Both genders are criticized for their natural looks and then judged for trying to remedy the previous problem.
Most dominating religions in America preach to love the rest of the world. This often contradicts the people on the opposite side of the street screaming God hates certain people.
Understandably, some people have had bad experiences with those of religion. However, the stereotyping that neither side of religion appreciates is part of what tears them apart even further. Believing that anyone who thinks differently than you is bad, but getting upset when they do the same thing back is a double standard that needs to end on every spectrum.
Some people seem to confuse that outwardly appearing contradictions automatically equate to hypocrisy. This is false and misinterpreted.
Katie Piper | Argonaut
We do not have to agree with everyone. It is a not a double standard to stand apart from the crowd that waves the same flag as you, it is a double standard to say that someone else has to follow a set of rules when you continuously break all of them.
Milo Yiannopoulos seems to embody this idea of contradictions that doesn’t bleed into hypocrisy. He is an alt-right, gay, political provocateur who once said, “I want it to no longer be a thing in culture where me saying, ‘you’ve hurt my feelings,’ or ‘I’m offended,’ has some weight. It’s meaningless. It’s garbage. It’s a slimy debate tactic used to shut people up when you don’t have facts.”
This is about pointing out the fact that, no matter what side of an issue you’re on, some people seem to feel the need to dehumanize the other to get a point across.
Then, after everyone feels like they are less than human, and are fighting based off animalistic instincts, we try getting in touch with our feelings throwing around phrases like “you’ve offended me,” when that is exactly what was meant.
I am not saying that we all need to agree on everything, because I know that will never happen. I’m not saying I have this all figured out and have never been a hypocrite. In fact, I’m saying that I have been, and it is not an area I want to venture to again.
The first step to making the world a better place is to realize that we can be wrong. It is OK to change your mind if your beliefs shift and it’s good to fight for what you believe in, so long as that does not obliterate the opposing standpoint.
If what one believes in is so powerful and great and right, then it should be able to speak for itself, rather than put down anyone else. Just because one person or one group uses double standard techniques does not mean that their whole point is invalid, it just means that their battle style is outdated.
Katie Piper can be reached at [email protected]