While chatting with my girlfriends a few nights ago, one slightly inebriated friend asked, “Why is it that when guys are promiscuous they are celebrated, but when girls are easy, they are called whores?” It got me thinking: Double standards between the sexes. Huh. That could be an interesting column topic.

So let’s see here, a girl sleeps with a lot of guys, and her friends call her a slut. A guy bangs every girl he meets and friends drink to him and girls think he’s a stud. Why is this? It seems like guys get rewarded for all their negative traits and females get the short end of the stick.

For instance, guys can take part in all sorts of insane drunken shenanigans, and everyone cheers them to the finish. They get away with so much: They can binge drink, belch, eat entire pizzas (OK, OK, I know I do that one, too), pee outdoors and run through the streets screaming unintelligible statements trying to resemble Old School.

Girls get drunk and they look like crack whores – mascara running down their faces, gossiping about other whores, making drunken phone calls telling their girlfriends how much they love them, yearning for Taco Bell. No one raises a glass when a girl gets drunk, unless of course he wants to bang her.

How many times do you see a slightly overweight guy who is still considered a catch? But a girl gains even one fifth of the freshman fifteen, and she is considered a heifer. The same goes for ugliness. A girl can be totally decent, spend hours preparing, picking out a cute outfit and doing her hair, and guys still call her “nasty,” but a guy can have a beer gut, be half-bald, sport a ratty T-shirt, and still think he’s the bomb.

In addition, when a guy fails a course or otherwise makes an academic ass of himself, people laugh, or applaud his “I don’t care” attitude. A girl does the same thing and she is labeled a “dumb blonde.”

My favorite fictional columnist Carrie Bradshaw pointed out: “When men attempt bold gestures, generally it’s considered romantic. When women do it, it’s often considered desperate or psychotic.” Seeeriously. Ever hear about a girl leaving flowers at a guy’s door or throwing rocks at his window? Hell no. She’s a desperate psycho. A guy does the same thing, maybe even throw in a guitar ballad – oh, he’s freakin’ sweet and adorable.

True story: My friends and I were finishing up some half price appetizers at Applebee’s a few Sundays ago, and what happens? A random guy comes up to our table and says, “Hey, I swear I never do this, but do you have a boyfriend?” looking at my hot friend sitting next to me. “I just have to say, you are just absolutely gorgeous, and I thought I’d give you my number, and maybe, you could call me and I could take you out.” Gag me. “My name’s (whatever) by the way.” (Shakes her hand.) He then walks away as the six of us girls exchange shocked looks and start chattering.

OK, OK, it was kind of cute. So what if life’s not fair.

Allison Pritchard is a junior electronic media production major and a columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].