"What is she wearing?"

"She thinks she's cute, but she's not."

"Why won't she do something with her hair?"

"Didn't she have that on last week?"

For some unknown reason - well at least not known to me, women have the tendency to pass judgment on other women, and it starts at a young age. When I was about 9 years old I was shopping with my mother and brother when I noticed another little girl was staring at me. I turned to my brother and I asked, "Why is she looking at me?" He said, "She is checking out what you have on."

There seems to be an unannounced competition between females that takes place at school, work, and church - basically any place where more than one female is present at the same time. But, why? What is it about some women that brings about so much concern for what another female is doing? Are these women so unhappy with themselves that they need to project it onto others?

On August 28, 2016 Ms. Alicia Keys showed up at the MTV Music Awards without make-up and there was a lot hoop-la over it. Why? Could it be because there are a lot of women who think they don't look good without make-up? Society at its best again, defining beauty for all to mimic.

For decades women have been told how they should look. From back to back commercials for products to make those fine lines disappear to washing that gray right out of your hair. Not to mention Jenny Craig commercials followed by Nutrisystem commercials telling us to lose weight. I won't even get started on the wonderful airbrushed magazine covers located in your favorite grocery store and pharmacy. But, the most saddening aspect of all of this is - we allow it, and we enforce it. What do you think would happen if we stopped? What would happen if we stopped allowing society to tell us how we should look? What if we stop comparing and competing and just be who we are and do what we like because we like it and not because society says we should or shouldn't?

I have mentioned, on numerous occasions how influential we can be - even if we don't consider ourselves to be role models, someone is watching and following in our footsteps. And as I've also stated many times before - we influence children. I read an article by Jia Wertz a few weeks ago that left me disheartened. The article addressed negative comments that were made by adult females about Blue Ivy. There were a plethora of tweets calling the four-year-old girl ugly. Honestly speaking, we shouldn't be surprised by the existence of bullying among our youth - look at how adults behave. Do we realize the impact this incident may have on - not just this little girl, but every female that read the comments or heard about it? Firstly, these actions sends the message that any female young or old can be subjected to such ridicule. Secondly, it sends a message that they can do it too. Can we break this cycle?

What was gained through labeling Blue Ivy ugly - or any other female for that matter? Did it make them feel better about themselves? This is another example of how detrimental social media can be. It gives bullies the courage to say things sitting behind a keyboard that they probably wouldn't say to the person's face. Maybe I'm delusional, but why can't we celebrate and encourage each other as opposed to tearing another person down? We are all females. We know the struggles of insecurities and acceptance. So, why not make the process easier for others - especially adolescent girls.

Delusional or not, I will continue to spread encouragement and love to all who are open to embrace it. Will you join me?