Males have even more of an "I'm not like other guys" thought stream. They are as competitive trying to garner female approval or mate. It's a pretty natural evolutionary instinct while mating. Not conditioned at all. And seen in many other species.

It's just that nowadays it is a taboo for women to criticize other women or belittle them. An agenda driven censoring of your own feelings. It's natural for women to belittle each other. Its just social dynamics. Men tear each other to shreds without any social labelling.

I don't understand why "I'm not like other girls" is criticized so much. It is a real thought that plagues many people. A writer like Jane Austen who was a genius at nuanced observations won't be dishonest with her writing.

And this is the one thing I feel amiss among genre romance readers. They seem to restrict the creativity of writers too much with idiotic shackles.