Building a Positive Community

Why must we tear the next woman down, to build ourselves up?

I ask this question after browsing my various social media feeds.  Over the past couple of days I have been bombarded with statuses, posts, and tweets that were caddy, negative, and derogatory towards women... the sad part about this is that they were all posted by other women.  The posts focused on attacking the weight, physical beauty, and fashion choices of young ladies who dared to be different.  Listed below are the comments I saw along with my thoughts:

Social Media Comments	My Thoughts
"You only cute on snapchat"	At least she found something that works for her
"No one wants to see all of your fat; cover it up"	...And how does her fat offend you?
"No Edges having, (insert expletive)"	What if she had alopecia?
"He only with her cause she taking care of him"	Sounds like something someone miserable would say
"If you take that weave out, you would be busted."	At least her weave looks flawless
"She is black as hell! Give that girl some Ambi."	Black is beautiful, plus it's slimming
"She's only a 10 with make-up on!"	If she likes it, I love it!

Really?! Why do we have to resort to this? Does it make you feel good inside? When we put this out into the atmosphere how can we expect people of the opposite sex to respect us and treat us the way we want to be treated? I have never been in the business of tearing down the next girl.  I have no shame in complimenting someone's hair, body, make-up, clothing, etc. I can ALWAYS find something nice to say about every female that I encounter. Unfortunately, there's not a lot of people who think like this.  

The negativity geared towards women, especially women of color is unparalleled.  We too often have to worry about being cute enough, thin enough, strong enough, sweet enough, smart enough.  Knowing this daily struggle, yet we still find ways to bring down the confidence of others by demeaning others facing the same criticisms. 

Dare to be Different!

I encourage you all to find different ways to let another woman know that SHE IS ENOUGH! Compliment that stranger walking down the street instead of bashing the one flaw that you notice. We all have flaws and imperfections, would you want someone pointing them out to you constantly?  We all have various assets; find that one glowing asset in the next female and let them know that you noticed it. All women (young and old) get a small boost of confidence when someone of the opposite sex compliments them... but when a peer of the same sex does it,  it can really improve someone's self-esteem.  Control your negative thoughts and increase the words of affirmation that you speak unto others.  How will you help build positivity among your female peers?