Catty. Bitchy. Gossiping. Cliquish. When you hear those words you don’t immediately think, “Oh, they must be talking about guys!” Nope. All those nasty words are associated with women.

Regina George and The Plastics strutting through the high school hallway in Mean Girls. Blair and her Minions sitting on the steps of The Met eating yogurt in Gossip Girl. Allison bullying Hanna and spilling her secrets in Pretty Little Liars. Girls get a bad rap on screen–not for being mean in general, they’re perfectly nice to the boys they crush on–but for being awful to each other.

Ever work on a school project with a group of girls only to be sabotaged by doing all of the work and getting none of the credit? Ask a friend for advice on what prom dress to wear only to get tricked into looking like a fool on the big day? Your BFF hears you humming a tune, tells you to try out for the talent show, and you get humiliated in front of the whole school because you really can’t sing? Nope.

The real cure for a Queen Bee doesn’t exist–because Queen Bees don’t exist. A new study has debunked the “bitch who betrays other girls to get ahead” myth. The survey talked to some really smart, educated, and powerful men and women in leadership roles about their road to success. 65 percent of women who had help in their careers wanted to help others while only 56 percent of men said the same. Out of the women who wanted to pay it forward, 73 percent said they were helping other women. Girl power isn’t making a comeback. Truth is, it never left.

We’re sure there a few exceptions. There are probably some gross women out their who feel threatened by others. Surprise: there are a few men like that too. Let’s maybe not categorize women as selfish and men as leaders. Some people are selfish (no matter what they’re packing in those jeans). Let’s ignore them.

This study is great because it shuts a few people up. Why would anyone want to spread this horrible little rumor that women discriminate against other women? Too keep women down. If girls are convinced that other girls are their only competition, they lose sight of the truth: we’re all competing against everyone.If Rihanna is focusing all her energy on making sure Katy doesn’t have as a good as a sweet sixteen as her and Katy is channeling all her energy on making sure Rihanna’s party sucks–you know what happens? Both parties suck. Justin’s party next door though? That’s really popping. Get it?

TV and movies tells us women are against each other so that we become suspicious of the girls around us in real life. This is just a distraction. No one is against you. Even in a competition you’re supposed to do your best, not trick someone into doing their worst.

Thankfully, you guys all know it’s straight up bull. Television might say one thing, but we all know in real life girls are more likely to lend a helping hand than an iron fist.

Do you feel like you’re competing with other girls? Let us know in the comments.

Next check out Not Sure Why Feminism Is Awesome? Here’s 5 Reasons!

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