Women vs Women: Women in the public eye need to stop being pitted against each other

After the downfall of Kimye (Kim Kardashian and Kanye West) — public fighting and moral differences eventually led to divorce — I was left wondering what the next steps for both celebrities would be. After all, in my eyes they were always supposed to be soulmates.

Not even two months later, my questions were answered with flashing headlines: “Kanye West and Julia Fox: A timeline of their new romance.” Kanye had found himself a new girl. But instead of reporting on this new relationship, most stories turned into comparisons between Fox and Kardashian.

From headlines like “Has Julia Fox been Copying Kim Kardashian?” to “Kim Kardashian is the new face of Balenciaga, Julia Fox be damned,” the gossipy tabloids fed off comparing the two women against each other simply for publicity. Fox and Kardashian are just one example of women pitted against each other by one consistent theme in pop culture dramas: a man. 

It’s 2022. Why are we still setting women against each other? 

After the news of Fox’s relationship with West infiltrated the public, that was all she was to them — gossip. The media didn’t cover her modeling campaigns, new movie roles or how she once was a fashion designer. Instead, every latest headline was something about her wearing repeats of Kardashian’s outfits or “Was she insecure because of Kim?” The media dismissed who she was the instant she got into a relationship.

When host of the infamous podcast “Call Her Daddy” Alex Cooper, announced that her special guest of the week was going to be Julia Fox, the media and the public became ecstatic and eager to hear what she had to say. Who was Kanye’s new girlfriend? Did she hate Kim Kardashian? Was she jealous of her? Was this a publicity stunt?

Nowhere did I see anything along the lines of, Who is Julia Fox? How has she built a career? What’s her life story?

The problem at hand is the constant drive to pit women against each other, maintaining unnecessary competition between the two. This consistent issue seen in the media affects the rest of the world watching it, too. 

I’m not totally innocent here either. Of course I wanted to hear all the gossip details about her love triangle with Kanye and Kim, but a large part of me also wanted to hear who Fox really is and what she’s like. So when the new podcast episode aired I set aside 90 minutes to uncover who she is. 

I was fascinated by her life story of drug addiction at the young age of 13 all the way to independently supporting herself and throwing herself into modeling and acting. Fox is intellectual and well-spoken — I was mind blown at how quick the world was to disregard all of this and instead focus on making Kardashian her enemy.

But then again, I shouldn’t be that surprised. After all, the media plotting women against each other and putting them down isn’t breaking news. 

Remember the original love triangle that was Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston? Although these couples left their marks in the ‘90s and early 2000s, the unnecessary competition between the two females is still alive and well, even 15 years later, all over one guy.

No headlines that I’ve seen reported on a working relationship or potential friendship between the two, any time you see their two names in the same article it always follows with something about Brad Pitt favoring one or which female is doing better at that particular moment. Simply because of a man, the public has completely dismissed covering their personalities. 

As a female, growing up with the example of women fighting over men or being put down against one another due to relationships has built an expectation in the world of dating that this is how it’s supposed to be. How it always is. That it’s normal.

But it’s not normal to immediately presume negative connotations of a female simply because she’s dating someone. It’s not normal to punish her or put her down for it. It’s not normal to make their newfound relationship their only personality trait. 

This expectation is harmful not only to impressionable young girls but to the entirety of the world. As long as this behavior is constantly exemplified and glorified to the public, it will be repeated within society. 

It’s time the media realizes the stigmatization they bring to girls’ and womens’ self-esteem and respect, it’s time they understand how negative the headlines they produce can be.

And for the love of God, it’s time we stop pitting women against each other.