5 of the Greatest Mean Girls of All Time Acted Out door Ariel Winter | Cosmopolitan 

Ariel Winter is not here for bitches. She\'s also not here for sitting by meekly while bullies and trolls spew hate, and try to tear her and others down. In January, the 18-year-old

actress called out Vine star Nash Grier on Twitter for a "homophobic and ignorant" video. In February, she took to Twitter again to defend herself from trolls who tried to shame her for not covering up her breast reduction scars on the red carpet at the 2016 SAG Awards. And just last month, she came to Kim Kardashian\'s defense when people slammed Kim for posting a nude selfie on Instagram. "There\'s absolutely no reason to be mean to other people," she told Cosmopolitan.com. "It\'s unwarranted."

Given her vocal opposition to bullies and trolls — bitches, if you will — Cosmopolitan.com thought it would be fun to have her take on five of the most iconic bitches in the history of TV and film — from Amber in

"to know your enemy, you must first become your enemy."

Is there anything to admire about these characters?You have to admire their honesty. [

] They\'re pretty unabashed about the things that they feel. But at the same time, I don\'t really admire somebody who deliberately goes out of her way to hurt other people. Being mean to people is not cool. And why I found it so awesome to do this shoot and play these characters is that I\'m right now trying to speak out against bullying and people tearing others down, and I love that I got to play these characters and trump them in a sense. I got to overtake them. What they do is not right — and I\'m above it.

Did it affect you on a personal level, getting into the mindset of these characters?I do have to say, when I was reciting some of the lines for these characters — and seeing the way they didn\'t really care about anyone\'s feelings or self-esteem — it was a little alarming to think about how everybody idolizes them. They are

mean. At the same time, they are [characters in] movies, and it\'s good to show that mean side, because it gives everybody a wake-up call of like, "Oh, wow, that\'s horrible to see somebody say those things."

Like you said, though, people actually idolize characters like Regina George. Why do you think that is?Well, because she\'s the ideal; she is the standard. When I was younger, we didn\'t have a lot of role models that were

Regina George-like. We didn\'t have a lot of super-nice women who were just OK being themselves — didn\'t

to limit themselves at every meal. That promoted a lot of insecurity. People love her so much because they\'re like, "Wow, I wish I could be like her." Even people who have been rejected by Regina George-like people, I notice that they turn around and try to become the other way — they try to be

Regina. It\'s just disappointing that that\'s what they consider a perfect girl.

On the shoot, we were talking about your character on

, Alex, and you said that she can be kind of bitchy. How so?It\'s not exactly that I think Alex is

; it\'s more like Alex is very sassy — she sticks up for what she believes in. But you don\'t often see Alex going out of her way to hurt anybody. Those other characters like Regina and Heather, they\'re

to make other people feel bad, they\'re trying to hurt other people, they have no feelings for the people around them. There\'s "a little bit bitchy," [without] the negative connotation that everyone puts on [the word], and then there\'s a "mean girl" — and there\'s no way Alex would ever be a mean girl in the slightest.

"Bitch" is such a charged word with a negative connotation. Does it have any positive connotations for you though?Well, I have mixed feelings. The term "bad bitch" I don\'t find that offensive at all. To me, being a bad bitch means being a go-getter. I\'m getting what I want, I don\'t take shit from anybody, I am my own woman, I have my own ideals, I have my own voice, I don\'t rely on other people, I get what I want, and I am just being me. It\'s somebody who\'s not afraid to speak up for what they want. Standing up for yourself and being a bitch are often two things that people confuse. And that really bothers me, because I\'ve been told many times if I try and stand up for myself, "You\'re just being a bitch, you\'re such a bitch," blah, blah, blah — and, really, I think that\'s so disappointing that we have that stigma.

Are there any particular moments that stand out to you of being called a bitch?Here\'s the thing: Women will get called a bitch — and any other name — for speaking out about anything. It\'s a stigma for women, really: If we have an opinion, we\'re automatically labeled a bitch. We\'re categorized [as bitches] just for having the same thoughts and speaking out about something that men are totally allowed to speak out about. [They] are allowed to speak out about anything. And when we say anything, whether it\'s negative or positive, we\'re usually considered a bitch. And I think it\'s unfortunate.

Do you think there\'s a difference in how men and women use the word?It\'s used differently by different genders, for sure … women will turn to their friend and be like, "Oh, haha, you\'re being such a bitch," or make a joke or something like that. I\'m not saying that\'s right — everybody has their own opinion about it. But women tend to put a different connotation on it than men do. Men usually use the term to imply something very negative about women. The [other] thing that bothers me is that when men use the term "bitch" to each other, they\'re usually implying the other is acting like a woman ... I don\'t know why a man "acting like a woman" is considered a bitch.When I call myself a bad bitch, it\'s completely different than someone else calling me a bitch in a negative way. I don\'t condone that, I wouldn\'t allow [it]. I wouldn\'t allow a boyfriend to do it, a husband, friends, anything. Words can really destroy people. I just don\'t think it\'s appropriate.

Have you found yourself in a situation where someone has used that word in a way that offends you and you\'ve felt compelled to take action?I have definitely told off many people before who I\'ve heard using that term, using any term, really, that is negative and hurtful. Because I don\'t think it\'s right. It really destroys a person to hear something like that. So I\'ve definitely stepped in a few times.

How do you find the strength to do that?It\'s hard to step in on a situation that has nothing to do with you. What\'s "cool" nowadays is being mean to others, cutting people down, not building each other up. But you just remember that people need to stand up for what\'s right. It\'s going to ultimately make the world a better place to spread positivity and not hate.