It seems that every year things tend to change, yet one thing remains consistent: double standards. 

This continuous concept has been infested into our society since the dawn of time. Some of us are so used to it that it has become our norm. Others have been trying to speak out against it. 

Today, the battle continues gaining new views towards the implacable standards. 

Regardless if you disagree or agree with this concept, it is still relevant in 2020. 

A public example that was relevant years ago was the 2012 Free the Nipple campaign, urging women to be shirtless and attempting to make it acceptable for women to expose their breasts in public.

After all, our society has no issue with men being outside shirtless. If they were doing it, why shouldn’t women be able to?

That was over eight years ago. Yet, today there are countless public examples of double standards from paternity leave to domestic violence to rights based on background. Various of these cases are due to race, gender, status quo or wealth. 

Another double standard is related to perceptions of who commits abuse. 

For years, celebrities Johnny Depp and Amber Heard have had ongoing court battles. Heard proclaimed herself as a survivor of abuse and joined in with the #MeToo movement. 

Yet Depp has alleged that Heard was not a victim but in fact a perpetrator of abuse against him

While it is unclear whose account is correct since there are still ongoing legal battles, the double standard made some find it hard to believe that Heard, as a woman, could be an abuser. This commonality is frequently seen in many cases; abuse is viewed differently due to gender.

In 2019, headlines broke out with the college admissions bribery scandal. 

Amongst the numerous parents involved, the media focused on actress Lori Loughlin for committing this crime. Her punishment, in the end, was merely a slap on the wrist.  Due to her involvement with the scandal, she will be facing two months in jail, a $150,000 fine and 100 hours of community service. 

If an individual of a different race or background had committed this same crime, their punishment would likely have been more severe. This is an example of double standards through wealth and race. 

As you can see, double standards have always been in our lives. It is a concept that won’t disappear anytime soon. 

In a way, it has set regulations and considerations for what is morally correct and incorrect. 

Whether we choose to see them or ignore them, they have always existed within our society. 

Women are not allowed to go shirtless like men are. Men cannot proactively approach women without the presumption of abuse. People of color are often punished for crimes more harshly than white people are. Wealth and positions of power allow people to suffer less than minorities. 

All these public examples merely demonstrate how even today double standards continue to stand as our expectations, principles and moralities.