Demand change in "Girl World"

By Brooke Boniface

This is the situation: two girls, one guy. Now before anyone gets too excited, no, this is not every guy's fantasy come true or some sort of soft core porn. This is, in fact, the harsh reality of situations that occur between two girls pretty much anywhere. Whether it is a girlfriend, her boyfriend and the girl on the side, or two friends who both like the same boy, girls often end up in competition over the man they desire.

If you were to watch any reality TV show or even just listen in on a group of girls' conversation, you would almost definitely find a woman complaining about her boy troubles and talking about the "other woman." We've seen it on movies like "Mean Girls" and have most likely experienced it in our own lives since the 7th grade -- yes, I refer to the vicious rules and twisted games of "Girl World," where girls coldly turn on each other in the blink of an eye.

On the reality TV show "The Hills," there have been countless love triangles that have entertained viewers with endless drama and nonsense. These rocky relationships have roots that go all the way back to "Laguna Beach," where Kristin Cavallari and Lauren Conrad fought over Stephen Colletti. There's no doubt that the cat fights that ensue when two girls like one guy make for addictive, trashy drama and good ratings on reality TV. In a more recent love triangle on "The Hills," Cavallari and Audrina Patridge, two seemingly reasonable girls who may have otherwise been friends, have ended up feuding and making fools of themselves on national television over Justin Bobby, who is frankly not worth it.

Even in my own group of friends -- heck, even in my own life -- I find this happening often. A friend of mine from home was dating a guy for a year and a half when he cheated on her with a girl who my friend had never met. Yet one would have thought this other girl was Hitler, the way my friend spoke about her. She told anyone who would listen how much of a slut this girl was, without ever having interacted with her. And while my friend was doing that, the other girl was talking similar trash as well. But through it all, neither my friend nor the other girl said a word against the boy who formed this love triangle. In fact, my friend is still in a relationship with him, while the other girl is still interested as well.

But should things be this way? Why are girls so intent on blaming one another when there is another person who walks away unscathed? Why are women so quick to turn against one another without first exercising any form of communication, understanding, respect or maturity?

The respectable thing to do would be for the man in this situation to be up front with both parties about where they stand and then make a decision about which one he would like to continue seeing. As for the girls, they should both realize that talking trash and feuding with each other over a guy does nothing but make them look petty and immature. If the guy you desire wants you, he will choose you regardless of the attention he is receiving from other females. "Girl World" may be the dog-eat-dog world girls live in today, but it needs to change.

As for girls who feud after their boyfriend has cheated: well, this situation should not even be an issue. A woman who has been cheated on should recognize that her boyfriend has disregarded his feelings for her and done whatever he pleased with someone else. The other girl should also recognize that she is being used for his selfish indulgence and self-pleasure. Neither should be blaming one another for what was done; instead they should move on with their lives and leave that selfish boy behind them.

Now, before people start getting the wrong idea, this is not an article bashing the male sex. In fact, all of these situations could be reversed to describe two guys and one girl and I would be thinking the exact same thing. In the end, the point is that all people need to respect themselves and realize that anyone who is going to make you fight over them just isn't worth your time, your tears or your energy.

Brooke Boniface is a sophomore history and political science double major.