This week during my study hall, I put my hair in a ponytail. I know that doesn’t seem like a monumental event—because it’s not. The classroom was warm, and I was sick of my hair falling in my face. The “monumental event,” so to speak, was when the boy sitting with me told me offhandedly that he didn’t like when girls wore ponytails, because ponytails are lazy.

Well, have I got a rant for that boy, and for every other boy who ended up living under the delusion that girls do their hair and makeup for the sole purpose of being attractive for the male half of the species.

First of all, the way I wear my hair is absolutely not proportional to how lazy I am feeling on a given day. In fact, my hairstyle usually depends on my outfit, which means actual thought and effort goes into it. So, even if his statement had not been a sexist generalization and a logic fallacy, it was, at least, entirely wrong.

In the vein of sexism, I feel obligated to crush the ignis fatuus that all girls dress up for boys. Some girls may, and that’s a personal choice. Some girls dress up to fit in or impress their friends, and that’s okay too. About half the time, my style consists of whatever clothes I find when I’m running late at 7:05 in the morning and hoping I still have time for breakfast before I dash out to my frozen car.

Likewise, if a girl opts to partake in other alterations of appearance, including styling her hair and wearing makeup, it is highly likely she is making these choices for her own benefit. In general, a feeling of confidence about how one looks, even if this feeling originates from a simple good hair day, goes a long way. This slight boost in attitude is, in my mind, worth a lot more than the opinion of a boy. Especially a boy who, with his daily uniform of sweatpants, a t-shirt, and one-inch-long hair (styled the exact same way every day, thanks), thinks I am the one who is lazy.

I think people need to understand that girls are dressing up for themselves, not for the boys who judge their personalities based on how they wear their hair.