I’m a nurse and I work in a unit that is almost exclusively female staff. One of our coworkers, it turns out was in an abusive relationship and needed to flee with her children, and was worried because she didn’t feel safe, she didn’t have any extra money, or a place to stay. The rest of the staff.(and there are eight of us total including this particular nurse)got a fund together, and moved her and her children out of her house, and into one of our coworkers family, Summer cabin (a near by lake). We made all of this happened in 48 hours.
She lived there rent free with her kids for a couple of months while she got her self together and then got her own place with her kids. When women been together to help other women, they are unstoppable.
To find out how this conversation about girl power started in the first place, we reached out to Reddit user Hairy-Swordfish3914, who posed the question, “What’s the best example of girls supporting girls you’ve ever seen in your life?”
She was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and share that she wanted to make a post that would make people feel good at the end of the day. “Online, I see so many women tearing down other women, so I wanted to remind myself and others that there is kindness in the world,” Hairy-Swordfish3914 says.
We also asked the OP about some of her own experiences with girls having each other’s backs. “I’d definitely say that the biggest way I’ve experienced being supported by other women is the way my mother supports me,” she shared. “I haven’t always been kind to her (especially during teenage years!), but I will remain eternally grateful for her presence in my life.”
I was 16 years old, recently diagnosed with EDD (emotional dysregulation disorder) and attending a class. During one of these classes (I believe it was a month or so long) I was very quiet (I was usually really chatty) because I was having a bad day. One of the girls wrote me note saying “Stay safe, next week will be better” and slipped it on my desk after the class. I ended up crying because she didn’t know at the time I was suicidal. I have that note taped to my cabinet in my room.
As far as why it’s important for women to look out for one another, the OP says it’s crucial for us to help each other with issues that primarily affect women. “In other words, since we understand these issues better, we are able to help other women with these issues more effectively.”
Then, they dared each other to “go compliment a stranger.” One girl came up to me and said she liked my phone case, lol.
I just thought it was all very wholesome and cute.
Mine is when I called my child’s pediatrician to change my address after I filed for divorce and we had to move to my parents. After the receptionist got me all sorted she said “I’m going to get a little personal with you here, but I just wanted to say that you’ll start to feel better soon. Sooner than you’d think. It could also be a year from now but you will feel better than you did before. You just keep doing what you’re doing and look after yourself and that child and you’ll be great”. And said she had been there and knew what it was like. Oh lord it took all I had not to just sob and sob. I’ll never forget you Sherry!!
I’m gonna save this thread for anytime someone’s dusty son makes me think I don’t like being a woman
Hairy-Swordfish3914 also told Bored Panda that she enjoyed reading through the replies to her post. “One that stood out to me was a reply about women going to the women’s march in Toronto to support women’s health care in the states. It’s so powerful to see women supporting each other whilst separated by a border.”
I have Tourette’s Syndrome. Me and my friend were having drinks together at a bar. We had just both ordered a shot to take together, but my tics started acting up and I lost control of my hands and couldn’t hold the glass without potentially throwing it at someone. I tried a couple times, but had to put it down. So my friend was like, “want me to just pour this shot in your mouth for you?” And I said yes and she fed me the shot of tequila. It was so funny and it actually made me feel less self conscious about my Tourette’s. We must have looked insane but I felt very cared for in that moment and was laughing my a*s off
But traveling alone has really changed that.
It’s a wonderful little club. Women who were traveling in groups or with their partners/husbands/families would go out of their way to check in on me. Establish friendly conversation, share a meadow report, and get enough of a rapport that it was clearly implied that we could ask each other for help if we needed to. Female Park rangers who did solo travel would make sure I knew how to find the women on duty in the host camps if I needed them.
When i was hiking on my road trip, it was so unexpected. Every woman who saw me was amicable and friendly. While every other solo woman traveler was immediately my ally. I’ve never really experienced camaraderie like that before. It was drunk girl in bar bathroom energy, but the slow, steady, sturdy version of it. It was transformative.
Holiday dinner a few years ago. Excused myself from the table to use the restroom. While I’m tinkling, I hear wretching and vomiting in the adjacent stall. My heart sank. Been there, done that, thanks to years of chemotherapy.
Finished up, exited my stall, and washed my hands. But I didn’t feel quite ready to leave the bathroom. Something in me just kept tugging at me, saying: *stay.* And so I did.
The lady emerges from her stall. She apologizes for the vomiting. I reassure her it’s no problem at all, I know how it is! As she’s about to wash her hands, another heave of nausea washes over her. I know this because *I’ve been there*. I’ve experienced those same heaves of nausea myself.
I immediately and swiftly (but gently) pushed her back into the bathroom stall, and held what little hair she had left while she heaved and vomited into the toilet. Rubbed her back, and held her forehead. She turned around and asked: *how did you know?*
*I’ve got you, sis. I know. I’ve been there.*
She finished puking, and I helped her freshen up. We exited the bathroom, arm in arm, and walked back out to the dining area. Her table was near mine. Before we parted ways, we hugged. Never even got her name, but in that moment, we were kindred spirits and practically sisters.
This was a very superficial example, but it renewed my faith in other women to remember (and experience) that we look out for one another.
She actually came back about 10 minutes later and handed me a tampon.
One time I was road tripping with some friends, my crush, and one of my friends new gf. I had never met her before, but she must have been able to quickly tell I had a crush on one of the guys in the car despite me trying to be as subtle as possible.
Well I got incredibly car sick on the first day and once we got to our hotel for the night I completely destroyed the bathroom. The guys had all went grocery shopping while me, my friend, the new gf all stayed back. I was extremely embarrassed because we were all sharing the space and the most horrifying thing when you’re 19 is the guy you’re crushing knowing you poop.
Before I even open the door completely, new gf handed me pepto bismol and some Advil and asked if I needed anything else. It was really sweet of her but there was no spray and nothing was going to fix that bathroom in time before my crush got back (I didn’t tell her that of course).
I was laying down once my crush got back, and they all walked in and immediately started acting obnoxious. Before they could even finish their words, new gf told them how sick she got on the ride and how sorry she was. I legit almost cried happy tears.
They made fun of her the rest of the time and it never phased her. To this day it was the greatest act of solidarity I’ve ever seen. I did totally hook up with my crush that trip, but most importantly that new gf was the maid of honor at our wedding!
One time I was in a really dark and depressive place, so I kind of isolated myself from everyone. Without even telling my friends what was going on, they could sense I was having a hard time, and they left a bottle of wine, flowers, crystals and an individual note from each of them about how much they love me. Makes me tear up while writing this and I’ll still reread those notes when I’m feeling down.
Goth club all ages night. I was 18. I had an at least 40yo dude creeping up on me, constantly trying to get my number. Three goth ladies 25-40 came up and basically adopted me for a bit. He got right the f**k out of dodge. I am now the Elder Goth that does the same.
I’d describe these ladies as Mother, Maiden, and Will-Eat-Your-Soul. Lovely, gorgeous women.
1. At the gym where a woman notices you are new and your form is wrong and comes over to ask if she can help. 2. At pilates classes where you’re struggling with the reformer machine and the woman next to you comes over to help. 3. When you faint, and the ladies are quick to offer you medicated oil, buys bottled water for you and offer you sweets to help with blood sugar. Here’s to all the beautiful ladies out there reading this.
I have a distinct memory… New Year’s Eve in Seoul Korea. My cousin had a few too many tequila shots and we ended up both in the bathroom stall… I was trying to hold her hair back while she was heaving over the toilet. In all the commotion i must have forgotten to lock the door and I kept saying “omg your hair!!!” Randomly an arm pops in with one single black hair elastic. Immediately grabbed it and yelled “thank you!!”
Never did see who gave us the hair elastic.. but felt so proud to be a girl in that moment, I dunno why. Lol… looking back now, must have been the booze that got me all sentimental over a frickin hair elastic.
This might be cheating a little because technically I participated. But once on a wine trip with some friends we decided to go get tattooed together. (Super small, not matching. Just we all got tattoos at the same time.)
While we were there a little girl, probably about 6 or 7, came in to get her ears pierced while we were waiting. It was her choice and she was super excited, but clearly nervous. We hyped her up and told her she’d be fine. She went back, got them pierced, and we could hear her start to cry a little.
As soon as she walked out we all lost our minds and immediately started praising her. “OH MY GOD, YOU LOOK AMAZING.” etc.
Her smile is forever in my brain. She immediately lit up the whole building. So excited to have hit this milestone and be a big girl.
One that was done for me was when my fiancé just up and dumped me via text and I had to move. I sold a lot of stuff on Facebook marketplace, and an older lady came to buy something. Asked me why I was selling and I broke down, so she gave me a huge hug and just sat with me for awhile.
When I was in primary school we were playing tunnel-ball and the girl in front of me had a little red stain on her pants. I quietly switched spots with another girl and let her know that the girl in front of me had a spot on her pants – “can you tell her” (I was not comfortable in bringing it up with the girl). She then took off her sweater and gave it to her to wrap around her waist and they went off to the bathroom.
As a dude, I am pretty proud of my younger self for handling that in a discrete and mature manner. But the way her friend just went into “girls supporting girls” mode will always stick in my mind. Total respect.
One time, I saw a bunch of girls cheer on their friend at a talent show. They were hyping her up, shouting like crazy, it was like a movie scene of epic girl power!
Just the other day I was at an NFL game waiting in line for a drink, this older woman came up behind me and told me how much she liked my outfit and makeup, and how nice I looked. She then proceeded to say how we as women need to compliment each other and raise each other up, I complimented her back and agreed with her. It was a short interaction but definitely was the highlight of my day!
I went out to a bar with my then boyfriend and roommate. My roommate got pretty drunk and came up asking if I was ready to go. Just then these two women came up “hey girl! It’s been so long! How are you? areyougoodthatguyseemshellacreepy. Yes! That hair!”
I had never experienced that and it took a minute to catch up but even my roommate backed off from the sudden group of women.
how when a drunk guy on transit tried to harass a teen and four of us called out to her saying something along the lines of “oh my gosh is that you?? i havent seen you in ages!! come sit with me!!”
I work with models, and you’d be surprised how many of them can only see their flaws. They’re under tremendous pressure to look a certain way, so before a group shoot, you can feel them getting flustered.
The greatest thing is how they hype each other up in those moments. Genuine and sincere compliments going around, giving tips, helping with costumes, and makeup. It makes my job more fulfilling because they are beautiful inside and out.
A girl ran into a packed women’s room at a bar crying and drunk and said her ex was there following her around being awful and her phone was dead. One girl let her borrow a phone so she could call her roomie for a ride, another girl alerted a bouncer and the bartender to the creep (who literally was waiting OUTSIDE THE BATHROOM and blocking others from getting in!), and me and another girl texted our bfs to get the dude away from the door. Once he was gone and the roomie was close, we surrounded her in a girl barrier and took her outside to her ride. The ex was creeping around outside and smoking and watching in disdain as she left. This was a collective of five girls (including her roommate) and two bfs helping one girl avoid a creepy ex at a bar and it was beautiful. Women’s room solidarity and safety is honestly a real thing and one reason it’s a place I feel safe in even the shadiest of bars.
I was in a bar my last week of college and a very creepy and abusive ex of mine showed up. Without going into detail he had no reason to be there and it was extremely off putting and he was going out of his way to make it even more uncomfortable. I asked a friend to hit the br with me and told her what was up. Without fail literally all of the seven or so girls in the bathroom, including a girl from the stall lol, were all enthusiastically offering support. I didn’t know any of them other than my friend obviously and to see how quickly they all rallied genuinely made me feel so much better.
This is just in my very personal experience, but I was in a s****y abusive relationship where I had been shouted at, shoved, hit, etc in front of people. The last time it happened, we were in the driveway of my house when he hit me and my (male) roommate’s girlfriend opened the front door and screamed at him that she had called the cops and to get the f**k out of there. It allowed me to leave for good, and I’ll be forever grateful to her for calling him out.
My best friend had a very rough divorce. Her husband was messing around with other women while they were in their last few months of their marriage. One of the women felt something was up and didn’t believe all the things he told her about my friend, who he was already referring to as his ex. My friend is a townie and she had heard of her and seen her a few times and just couldn’t imagine some of the awful things he was saying. She didn’t let him get any further, cut him off, and contacted my friend. They had lunch and she told my friend everything. Fast forward about a year and a half, they’re now good friends and I hang out with her too. She’s a great, solid person. He’s long gone. Gotta love it.
I play roller derby and there’s nothing like it. It’s such a bond with just everyone no matter which team. Sometimes there can be rotten eggs, or inflated egos, but they honestly get pushed out eventually.
When I was 16 I lived in the downtown area of my city. I would regularly walk down to the closest 7-11 to get snacks at odd hours of the night. There were several creepy instances I can recall, but this one fits the prompt.
As I walked into the store, a guy was leaning out the window of his car trying to talk to me. I pass by him without engaging him. As I’m waiting in line at the checkout, a woman comes back into the store, after she had previously left, and asked me, clearly, “You drove here, right?”
I was confused, and she pressed, “do you have a car?”
I said I didn’t, and she continued to tell me that the guy parked out front had been watching me, and had moved his car to park behind some bushes, and was waiting for me to leave. She offered me a ride and I (stupidly) refused. I took a different route home, though, while face timing a friend. She was a stranger to me, but she looked out for me, and protected me from something that could have been terrible.
At the gym, some girl was crying because her ex was stood there getting in her face, myself and a few other women noticed so moved closer, he was getting progressively more hostile towards her until he was jabbing at her and shouting. She moved back and we moved in making a little circle around her and got her to the locker room where we stayed with her to calm her down and talked to the gym staff about what happened, we walked her to her car to make sure she was safe and then we left.
At a park. There was a man and woman arguing in a car parked by the picnic tables. Another woman was sitting at the tables with a couple of her girlfriends, sort of side eyeing the argument but minding their business about it. Until, the woman tried to get out of the car and the man grabbed her. One of the women got up from the table and walked over to the driver’s seat, asked the woman if she needed help or for her to call someone. The man tried to interrupt and she very loudly informed him she was not talkin to him. When she walked away she informed the gentlemen that they could see him, and told the woman to just say the word if she changed her mind.
Just a few silly examples off the top of my head that always make me happy to think about:
Literally yesterday a casual acquaintance of mine asked me how NaNoWriMo is going because she saw me posting about it on Instagram, then told me how impressed she was I completed it by the skin of my teeth last year. I didn’t even know she watched my stories but boy was I touched!
I was having dinner at the chipotle by my job a few years ago and this family was sitting across from me, a mother and her son (looked about 12) and daughter (looked about 9). The son stole one of his sister’s chips and their mother doesn’t notice. The girl looks outraged, and I catch her eye and give her a “I can’t believe that s**t” eyeroll in solidarity. She blushes and looks away, but then catches my eye and gives me the same look back and we smile at each other.
Dear friend’s bachelorette party, us ladies all go out for karaoke. Once we’re good and drunk we sing Landslide and of course all start crying and telling our friend how happy we are for her and how much we love her. It was wonderful!
More seriously, I love the women’s twelve step meetings I attended. They were so raw and honest but also so loving and supportive. Couldn’t have gotten better without all the women who helped me recover.
Sometimes it’s big movie moments and sometimes it’s just small things. I have a group of friends, four of us in total. We have a group chat, of course. It’s the “text me when you get home” messages and if one of us forgets to send that text, the rest text or call to make sure. The other three have kids, I don’t. We’re at every kids birthday, and not just in presence. We show up early and help set up. We stay late and help clean up. Last weekend one of my friends was throwing a surprise party for her daughter. One of the other friends brought her daughter a dress to fit the theme to change into when she got there. Another friend brought make up and party supplies. I made party favors to hand out. Sometimes the kids will come stay the night at my house if one of their siblings is sick. Once, we were all snowed in at my house with one of my friends two boys while one of my friends were with her daughter and husband in the hospital during a blizzard. We’ve shown up at each others houses in the middle of the night to hold each other during hard times. We’re the first people we share news with.
All of us are either engaged or married and our husbands are great. But not having kids myself, I didn’t really understand the whole “it takes a village” sentiment until I met these ladies and became part of that village. Our husbands are great but girls understand girls on a different level. We plan surprise parties for each other. When know each other favorite clothes and plan out outfits and tell the husbands what to make the ladies wear lol. We know each others schedules like the back of our hands. We raise each others kids. It’s not just being around but we also have individual relationships with each of the kids and we’re friends with their spouses. It’s just a unity.
My daughter (13) just wrapped up 8 performances of a local community theater production for which she was the lead. Her bestie attended at least 3 of the shows and during curtain call each time she stood up and screamed “woohoo that’s my bestie!!!!Way to go!!!” I told my daughter having a hype girl on your side is an irreplaceable gift.
I had a pregnant client timidly ask if I could reverse a portion of her recent monthly charge- it was something like $10- because she was a little short and could really use the help. I told her to let me take a look and I’d see what I could do. Went through her history a ways, and decided that she really should have had a different type of account, and credited her back $100 or something. I told her that I’d gone ahead and reversed some past fees, and showed her the new balance. She looked at me and was like, are you serious?? and just started bawling her eyes out, then I started crying, and now I’m crying again thinking about it lol
She lived there rent free with her kids for a couple of months while she got her self together and then got her own place with her kids. When women been together to help other women, they are unstoppable.
To find out how this conversation about girl power started in the first place, we reached out to Reddit user Hairy-Swordfish3914, who posed the question, "What's the best example of girls supporting girls you've ever seen in your life?”
She was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and share that she wanted to make a post that would make people feel good at the end of the day. "Online, I see so many women tearing down other women, so I wanted to remind myself and others that there is kindness in the world," Hairy-Swordfish3914 says.
We also asked the OP about some of her own experiences with girls having each other's backs. "I'd definitely say that the biggest way I've experienced being supported by other women is the way my mother supports me," she shared. "I haven't always been kind to her (especially during teenage years!), but I will remain eternally grateful for her presence in my life."
I was 16 years old, recently diagnosed with EDD (emotional dysregulation disorder) and attending a class. During one of these classes (I believe it was a month or so long) I was very quiet (I was usually really chatty) because I was having a bad day. One of the girls wrote me note saying “Stay safe, next week will be better” and slipped it on my desk after the class. I ended up crying because she didn’t know at the time I was suicidal. I have that note taped to my cabinet in my room.
As far as why it's important for women to look out for one another, the OP says it's crucial for us to help each other with issues that primarily affect women. "In other words, since we understand these issues better, we are able to help other women with these issues more effectively."
Then, they dared each other to "go compliment a stranger." One girl came up to me and said she liked my phone case, lol.
I just thought it was all very wholesome and cute.
Mine is when I called my child’s pediatrician to change my address after I filed for divorce and we had to move to my parents. After the receptionist got me all sorted she said “I’m going to get a little personal with you here, but I just wanted to say that you’ll start to feel better soon. Sooner than you’d think. It could also be a year from now but you will feel better than you did before. You just keep doing what you’re doing and look after yourself and that child and you’ll be great”. And said she had been there and knew what it was like. Oh lord it took all I had not to just sob and sob. I’ll never forget you Sherry!!
I’m gonna save this thread for anytime someone’s dusty son makes me think I don’t like being a woman
Hairy-Swordfish3914 also told Bored Panda that she enjoyed reading through the replies to her post. "One that stood out to me was a reply about women going to the women's march in Toronto to support women's health care in the states. It's so powerful to see women supporting each other whilst separated by a border."
I have Tourette's Syndrome. Me and my friend were having drinks together at a bar. We had just both ordered a shot to take together, but my tics started acting up and I lost control of my hands and couldn't hold the glass without potentially throwing it at someone. I tried a couple times, but had to put it down. So my friend was like, "want me to just pour this shot in your mouth for you?" And I said yes and she fed me the shot of tequila. It was so funny and it actually made me feel less self conscious about my Tourette's. We must have looked insane but I felt very cared for in that moment and was laughing my a*s off
But traveling alone has really changed that.
It’s a wonderful little club. Women who were traveling in groups or with their partners/husbands/families would go out of their way to check in on me. Establish friendly conversation, share a meadow report, and get enough of a rapport that it was clearly implied that we could ask each other for help if we needed to. Female Park rangers who did solo travel would make sure I knew how to find the women on duty in the host camps if I needed them.
When i was hiking on my road trip, it was so unexpected. Every woman who saw me was amicable and friendly. While every other solo woman traveler was immediately my ally. I’ve never really experienced camaraderie like that before. It was drunk girl in bar bathroom energy, but the slow, steady, sturdy version of it. It was transformative.
Holiday dinner a few years ago. Excused myself from the table to use the restroom. While I'm tinkling, I hear wretching and vomiting in the adjacent stall. My heart sank. Been there, done that, thanks to years of chemotherapy.
Finished up, exited my stall, and washed my hands. But I didn't feel quite ready to leave the bathroom. Something in me just kept tugging at me, saying: *stay.* And so I did.
The lady emerges from her stall. She apologizes for the vomiting. I reassure her it's no problem at all, I know how it is! As she's about to wash her hands, another heave of nausea washes over her. I know this because *I've been there*. I've experienced those same heaves of nausea myself.
I immediately and swiftly (but gently) pushed her back into the bathroom stall, and held what little hair she had left while she heaved and vomited into the toilet. Rubbed her back, and held her forehead. She turned around and asked: *how did you know?*
*I've got you, sis. I know. I've been there.*
She finished puking, and I helped her freshen up. We exited the bathroom, arm in arm, and walked back out to the dining area. Her table was near mine. Before we parted ways, we hugged. Never even got her name, but in that moment, we were kindred spirits and practically sisters.
This was a very superficial example, but it renewed my faith in other women to remember (and experience) that we look out for one another.
She actually came back about 10 minutes later and handed me a tampon.
One time I was road tripping with some friends, my crush, and one of my friends new gf. I had never met her before, but she must have been able to quickly tell I had a crush on one of the guys in the car despite me trying to be as subtle as possible.
Well I got incredibly car sick on the first day and once we got to our hotel for the night I completely destroyed the bathroom. The guys had all went grocery shopping while me, my friend, the new gf all stayed back. I was extremely embarrassed because we were all sharing the space and the most horrifying thing when you’re 19 is the guy you’re crushing knowing you poop.
Before I even open the door completely, new gf handed me pepto bismol and some Advil and asked if I needed anything else. It was really sweet of her but there was no spray and nothing was going to fix that bathroom in time before my crush got back (I didn’t tell her that of course).
I was laying down once my crush got back, and they all walked in and immediately started acting obnoxious. Before they could even finish their words, new gf told them how sick she got on the ride and how sorry she was. I legit almost cried happy tears.
They made fun of her the rest of the time and it never phased her. To this day it was the greatest act of solidarity I’ve ever seen. I did totally hook up with my crush that trip, but most importantly that new gf was the maid of honor at our wedding!
One time I was in a really dark and depressive place, so I kind of isolated myself from everyone. Without even telling my friends what was going on, they could sense I was having a hard time, and they left a bottle of wine, flowers, crystals and an individual note from each of them about how much they love me. Makes me tear up while writing this and I’ll still reread those notes when I’m feeling down.
Goth club all ages night. I was 18. I had an at least 40yo dude creeping up on me, constantly trying to get my number. Three goth ladies 25-40 came up and basically adopted me for a bit. He got right the f**k out of dodge. I am now the Elder Goth that does the same.
I’d describe these ladies as Mother, Maiden, and Will-Eat-Your-Soul. Lovely, gorgeous women.
1. At the gym where a woman notices you are new and your form is wrong and comes over to ask if she can help. 2. At pilates classes where you’re struggling with the reformer machine and the woman next to you comes over to help. 3. When you faint, and the ladies are quick to offer you medicated oil, buys bottled water for you and offer you sweets to help with blood sugar. Here’s to all the beautiful ladies out there reading this.
I have a distinct memory… New Year’s Eve in Seoul Korea. My cousin had a few too many tequila shots and we ended up both in the bathroom stall… I was trying to hold her hair back while she was heaving over the toilet. In all the commotion i must have forgotten to lock the door and I kept saying “omg your hair!!!” Randomly an arm pops in with one single black hair elastic. Immediately grabbed it and yelled “thank you!!”
Never did see who gave us the hair elastic.. but felt so proud to be a girl in that moment, I dunno why. Lol… looking back now, must have been the booze that got me all sentimental over a frickin hair elastic.
This might be cheating a little because technically I participated. But once on a wine trip with some friends we decided to go get tattooed together. (Super small, not matching. Just we all got tattoos at the same time.)
While we were there a little girl, probably about 6 or 7, came in to get her ears pierced while we were waiting. It was her choice and she was super excited, but clearly nervous. We hyped her up and told her she'd be fine. She went back, got them pierced, and we could hear her start to cry a little.
As soon as she walked out we all lost our minds and immediately started praising her. "OH MY GOD, YOU LOOK AMAZING." etc.
Her smile is forever in my brain. She immediately lit up the whole building. So excited to have hit this milestone and be a big girl.
One that was done for me was when my fiancé just up and dumped me via text and I had to move. I sold a lot of stuff on Facebook marketplace, and an older lady came to buy something. Asked me why I was selling and I broke down, so she gave me a huge hug and just sat with me for awhile.
When I was in primary school we were playing tunnel-ball and the girl in front of me had a little red stain on her pants. I quietly switched spots with another girl and let her know that the girl in front of me had a spot on her pants - "can you tell her" (I was not comfortable in bringing it up with the girl). She then took off her sweater and gave it to her to wrap around her waist and they went off to the bathroom.
As a dude, I am pretty proud of my younger self for handling that in a discrete and mature manner. But the way her friend just went into "girls supporting girls" mode will always stick in my mind. Total respect.
One time, I saw a bunch of girls cheer on their friend at a talent show. They were hyping her up, shouting like crazy, it was like a movie scene of epic girl power!
Just the other day I was at an NFL game waiting in line for a drink, this older woman came up behind me and told me how much she liked my outfit and makeup, and how nice I looked. She then proceeded to say how we as women need to compliment each other and raise each other up, I complimented her back and agreed with her. It was a short interaction but definitely was the highlight of my day!
I went out to a bar with my then boyfriend and roommate. My roommate got pretty drunk and came up asking if I was ready to go. Just then these two women came up “hey girl! It’s been so long! How are you? areyougoodthatguyseemshellacreepy. Yes! That hair!”
I had never experienced that and it took a minute to catch up but even my roommate backed off from the sudden group of women.
how when a drunk guy on transit tried to harass a teen and four of us called out to her saying something along the lines of “oh my gosh is that you?? i havent seen you in ages!! come sit with me!!”
I work with models, and you'd be surprised how many of them can only see their flaws. They're under tremendous pressure to look a certain way, so before a group shoot, you can feel them getting flustered.
The greatest thing is how they hype each other up in those moments. Genuine and sincere compliments going around, giving tips, helping with costumes, and makeup. It makes my job more fulfilling because they are beautiful inside and out.
A girl ran into a packed women's room at a bar crying and drunk and said her ex was there following her around being awful and her phone was dead. One girl let her borrow a phone so she could call her roomie for a ride, another girl alerted a bouncer and the bartender to the creep (who literally was waiting OUTSIDE THE BATHROOM and blocking others from getting in!), and me and another girl texted our bfs to get the dude away from the door. Once he was gone and the roomie was close, we surrounded her in a girl barrier and took her outside to her ride. The ex was creeping around outside and smoking and watching in disdain as she left. This was a collective of five girls (including her roommate) and two bfs helping one girl avoid a creepy ex at a bar and it was beautiful. Women's room solidarity and safety is honestly a real thing and one reason it's a place I feel safe in even the shadiest of bars.
I was in a bar my last week of college and a very creepy and abusive ex of mine showed up. Without going into detail he had no reason to be there and it was extremely off putting and he was going out of his way to make it even more uncomfortable. I asked a friend to hit the br with me and told her what was up. Without fail literally all of the seven or so girls in the bathroom, including a girl from the stall lol, were all enthusiastically offering support. I didn’t know any of them other than my friend obviously and to see how quickly they all rallied genuinely made me feel so much better.
This is just in my very personal experience, but I was in a s****y abusive relationship where I had been shouted at, shoved, hit, etc in front of people. The last time it happened, we were in the driveway of my house when he hit me and my (male) roommate's girlfriend opened the front door and screamed at him that she had called the cops and to get the f**k out of there. It allowed me to leave for good, and I'll be forever grateful to her for calling him out.
My best friend had a very rough divorce. Her husband was messing around with other women while they were in their last few months of their marriage. One of the women felt something was up and didn't believe all the things he told her about my friend, who he was already referring to as his ex. My friend is a townie and she had heard of her and seen her a few times and just couldn't imagine some of the awful things he was saying. She didn't let him get any further, cut him off, and contacted my friend. They had lunch and she told my friend everything. Fast forward about a year and a half, they're now good friends and I hang out with her too. She's a great, solid person. He's long gone. Gotta love it.
I play roller derby and there's nothing like it. It's such a bond with just everyone no matter which team. Sometimes there can be rotten eggs, or inflated egos, but they honestly get pushed out eventually.
When I was 16 I lived in the downtown area of my city. I would regularly walk down to the closest 7-11 to get snacks at odd hours of the night. There were several creepy instances I can recall, but this one fits the prompt.
As I walked into the store, a guy was leaning out the window of his car trying to talk to me. I pass by him without engaging him. As I'm waiting in line at the checkout, a woman comes back into the store, after she had previously left, and asked me, clearly, "You drove here, right?"
I was confused, and she pressed, "do you have a car?"
I said I didn't, and she continued to tell me that the guy parked out front had been watching me, and had moved his car to park behind some bushes, and was waiting for me to leave. She offered me a ride and I (stupidly) refused. I took a different route home, though, while face timing a friend. She was a stranger to me, but she looked out for me, and protected me from something that could have been terrible.
At the gym, some girl was crying because her ex was stood there getting in her face, myself and a few other women noticed so moved closer, he was getting progressively more hostile towards her until he was jabbing at her and shouting. She moved back and we moved in making a little circle around her and got her to the locker room where we stayed with her to calm her down and talked to the gym staff about what happened, we walked her to her car to make sure she was safe and then we left.
At a park. There was a man and woman arguing in a car parked by the picnic tables. Another woman was sitting at the tables with a couple of her girlfriends, sort of side eyeing the argument but minding their business about it. Until, the woman tried to get out of the car and the man grabbed her. One of the women got up from the table and walked over to the driver's seat, asked the woman if she needed help or for her to call someone. The man tried to interrupt and she very loudly informed him she was not talkin to him. When she walked away she informed the gentlemen that they could see him, and told the woman to just say the word if she changed her mind.
Just a few silly examples off the top of my head that always make me happy to think about:
Literally yesterday a casual acquaintance of mine asked me how NaNoWriMo is going because she saw me posting about it on Instagram, then told me how impressed she was I completed it by the skin of my teeth last year. I didn’t even know she watched my stories but boy was I touched!
I was having dinner at the chipotle by my job a few years ago and this family was sitting across from me, a mother and her son (looked about 12) and daughter (looked about 9). The son stole one of his sister’s chips and their mother doesn’t notice. The girl looks outraged, and I catch her eye and give her a “I can’t believe that s**t” eyeroll in solidarity. She blushes and looks away, but then catches my eye and gives me the same look back and we smile at each other.
Dear friend’s bachelorette party, us ladies all go out for karaoke. Once we’re good and drunk we sing Landslide and of course all start crying and telling our friend how happy we are for her and how much we love her. It was wonderful!
More seriously, I love the women’s twelve step meetings I attended. They were so raw and honest but also so loving and supportive. Couldn’t have gotten better without all the women who helped me recover.
Sometimes it’s big movie moments and sometimes it’s just small things. I have a group of friends, four of us in total. We have a group chat, of course. It’s the “text me when you get home” messages and if one of us forgets to send that text, the rest text or call to make sure. The other three have kids, I don’t. We’re at every kids birthday, and not just in presence. We show up early and help set up. We stay late and help clean up. Last weekend one of my friends was throwing a surprise party for her daughter. One of the other friends brought her daughter a dress to fit the theme to change into when she got there. Another friend brought make up and party supplies. I made party favors to hand out. Sometimes the kids will come stay the night at my house if one of their siblings is sick. Once, we were all snowed in at my house with one of my friends two boys while one of my friends were with her daughter and husband in the hospital during a blizzard. We’ve shown up at each others houses in the middle of the night to hold each other during hard times. We’re the first people we share news with.
All of us are either engaged or married and our husbands are great. But not having kids myself, I didn’t really understand the whole “it takes a village” sentiment until I met these ladies and became part of that village. Our husbands are great but girls understand girls on a different level. We plan surprise parties for each other. When know each other favorite clothes and plan out outfits and tell the husbands what to make the ladies wear lol. We know each others schedules like the back of our hands. We raise each others kids. It’s not just being around but we also have individual relationships with each of the kids and we’re friends with their spouses. It’s just a unity.
My daughter (13) just wrapped up 8 performances of a local community theater production for which she was the lead. Her bestie attended at least 3 of the shows and during curtain call each time she stood up and screamed "woohoo that's my bestie!!!!Way to go!!!" I told my daughter having a hype girl on your side is an irreplaceable gift.
I had a pregnant client timidly ask if I could reverse a portion of her recent monthly charge- it was something like $10- because she was a little short and could really use the help. I told her to let me take a look and I’d see what I could do. Went through her history a ways, and decided that she really should have had a different type of account, and credited her back $100 or something. I told her that I’d gone ahead and reversed some past fees, and showed her the new balance. She looked at me and was like, are you serious?? and just started bawling her eyes out, then I started crying, and now I’m crying again thinking about it lol
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