Women have an impossible task to try and compete with. What if I told you that you ahd to be like someone who is artificial and could not be achieved naturally? That is the dilemma that women are placed in. They have high standards placed on them because of the media, but in reality the media portrays women as superficial beings who are non-existent. Figures like Barbie have made it even more harder for women to be happy with their own body because of her perfect proportions. Women see Barbie at a young age and feel like big breast, and a small waist are the norm and if they do not achieve this look they become unhappy with their physical features and turn to unhealthy ways to achieve this look or plastic surgeries.
It is not all the women’s fault that they try to achieve this “look”. Men are guilty of promoting this look by looking for the beauty of a women instead of their brains. This leads to women trying to become as fashionable and pretty as possible instead of getting educated. This roadblock slows women down from being a major force in the workplace and in politics, and in society in general. Women are not looked upon the same way that men are when they try to be individuals, they are thought more of as an object or materials. They really do not get taken seriously and what doesn’t need to be taken seriously is, for example Michelle Obama’s arms, or the dress she wore, instead of what she speaks about. They criticized Palin for things that she couldn’t control, it was just the fact that she was a women was a negative against her, which should not have been the case.
The Eternal Feminine by Catellanos gave a great picture of the idea that women have to live up to ridiculous beauty standards. Women were constantly going to the salon to maintain their beauty and were trying their hardest to maintain a “youthful” look. They also said that women were not supposed to think because it made them question their place in society, which was a chauvinistic comment I do not agree with. I think it is ridiculous to think that women shouldn’t be able to think just because you think they will start to question their place in society. I feel like this is another way that men try to stay ahead of women which is not right. Like men feel that if women actually start to think, they will be in competition with men. Instead of letting women think about things that matter, men force into the heads of women subconsciously that they should worry about their beauty instead. This makes women take up most of their time on superficial things, rather then worrying about matters that were important. Women would go to the salon a certain amount of times per week based on the social status (Castellano 1. 275).
When a salesman came into the beauty parlor in the first scene and tried to sell the owner hairdryers that “wards off the danger” it showed how ignorant men were in actually believing that women should be seen and not heard. They did not want women to start thinking . They did not care that women were bored, only threat they had was if the women actually started to question her place in society. Men did not want this. It was their greatest threat at the time and it kept them above women.
Feminism is For Everybody chapter six by Bell Hooks, she talks about the issue of beauty in our culture. She talks about the evolution of beauty and talks about the different generations and how beauty has changed to get to the point that we are at today which is the love of physical attributes. Women are seen as unequal in our society because of this. “Our nation’s obsession with judging females of all ages on the basis of how we look was never completely eliminated. It continues to grip our cultural imagination” (Hooks 33). In chapter four of the F-Word, Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner analyzed various social problems that hurt women at universities in the United States and self-identity ranked number three on this list of the top ten social issues women are concerned with at college campuses. This shows that women are still lost in truly discovering who they are and need help finding their true self. A 2003 study done by Duke University showed that women at college are still pressured into looking good and worrying about their looks and I totally agree. If you look at our University you can see this as well. The pressures females place on themselves to look good to attract men is ridiculous. Girls want the latest fashion, high priced make ups, the “new” dress or shirt to wear at a party, and other types of things that hold women back in becoming truly equal to men. Men rarely care how they look as long as they look decent. Women go through intense dieting routines and try hard to dress a certain way to try and reach a look that is naturally unattainable. Women still feel that if they do not conform to the norm that they will not get a man and this is discouraging to women. No woman really wants to live alone so they will do what they think it takes to get a man. I feel like me being a male I do feed into the media. I do want a girl that fits the mold of what I see on television. I do not do it on purpose, but one can only naturally want the best of the best and if everyday you see this picture perfect girl, you start to think that most girls, if not all, should look this certain way. It is not right, because females are not objects and they should be seen as equals and men should look at their personalities just as much as their beauty, but this is not the case right now. Men are pressured by their friends as well to have a cute girlfriend. If a male were to bring a girl around their friends and their friends thought she was ugly or something of that nature, it could cause the guy to lose his girlfriend because he wants someone he can “show off”. She says that “as long as young women are spending time worrying about externally defined standards of beauty, their mental energy, and time, are being taken away from creating political change, and electoral action, and to break the external, mainly unattainable, standards that confine”(Rowe-Finkbeiner 71).
The media also plays a big part in this. Women cannot even be taken seriously in the eyes of the news media. They talk about Hilary Clinton’s female traits just as much as her political policies. Same goes for Sarah Palin, they discuss her being a mom just as much as her running for Vice President of the United States. Nobody brought up the fact that Barack and John Mccain both have kids. Just the thought that Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton were running for positions in politics made men uneasy so they had to bring up things that they couldn’t control to ridicule.
In Valenti’s article “He’s a Stud, She’s a Slut article, he makes the argument that women have a hard time in the political arena. There is a double standard number eleven, “He’s a politician, she’s a fashion plate”, Valenti describes the “extra baggage” that women carry because they are always being judged on their looks. Women can never get the right attention, everything they were will be ridiculed and the only way to solve this issue is to bring it up and try to resolve it somehow.
The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf talks about how the woman’s fixation with her apperance affects their ability to gain power within politics and the business world because “theres a secret underlife poisoning our freedom; infused with the notions of beauty, it is a dark vein of self hatred, physical obsessions, terror of again, and dread of lost control” (Wolf 10). Images of the perfect women deters women from advancing because “women can be better weakened physiologically” (Wolf 16). I will try to look at women in my career not as sex symbols and objects, but take them seriously for what they can bring to an establishment. Just because a women is wearing a shirt that may show some cleavage does not mean she should be taken less seriously then if she was wearing conservative garments. Once women get over trying to be superficial, they can work on things that will help them advance towards equality with men. Women are so busy trying to be pretty that they do not have time to worry about other things that are important and that is a detriment for women as a whole. They cannot worry about the latest fashion wear and expect they will still be able to focus on their career and be taken serious.
Feminism has changed a lot throughout history of women to what it has became today. Today I believe that feminism is more of what the individual makes it and changes for different people. Feminism for a black female is different then what feminism for a white, middle-class female would be. There are many different struggles that every woman individually struggles with and that is what makes feminism so diverse. Women come together who have similar problems they would like to resolve, and that makes the bond powerful. The definition of feminism for me is anyone, that is man or women, who believes that women should have equal rights and opportunities as men. I feel that it is wrong that women make 77 cents to every man’s dollar. Little things like that, that people feel should be corrected to be more equal I believe classifies them as a feminist. What feminism does is it fights the negative stereotypes that come along with it so people can appreciate and respect women for what they are, rather then look at women as objects or the subjects for their own entertainment. A lot of people think of feminists as lesbians, or people who don’t shave their armpits, or bald, but in reality feminism is for everyone, and anyone can be a feminist.
The first wave of feminism came in the 19th century and early 20th century and its main focus was large inequalities that swept across the nation such as woman’s right to vote. A great display of the first wave of feminism was the movie we watched in class “Iron Jawed Angels”. This showed the movement that was going on back then, like the rallying the women did in the streets and the horrible treatments they had to endure as they were protesting for what they thought were there rights. These were the basic rights that all people should have, but women were denied the right to have a say in the government and that is why they were forced to protest like they did.
The second wave began in the 1960’s and lasted all the way up until the 80’s. It was more about resolving the inequalities in the workplace, helping women be equal in marriages, and addressing the healthcare issues. The published work “Feminine Mystique” was written by Betty Friedan and it helped people at that time notice the troubles that everyday women who were housewives went through and exposed the issues to the public. Before the second wave of feminism began people were not pulling for equal pay in the workplace, but this wave let to acts, which promoted equal pay in the workplace and Title 9, which created equal sports program funding for girls. Both which are very important for the movement. There is no reason that women should not be paid the same as or close to how much a man would make for the same job and same qualifications. Then Title 9 helped combat the discrimination against female sports and allowed girls to start to compete in sports at younger ages and have the right resources to try and succeed.
Right now we are in the third wave of feminism which focuses more on female empowerment that male oppression on the female gender. It is also a more sexually and radically diverse movement that the first and second wave feminist movements. The vast differences that can be displayed by this wave of feminism makes it so that there is no set type or person for this group. “You can be a corporate executive, a soccer mom, a transgendered person, an ultrafeminine woman, or even a full-time mother-and still be a feminist” (Rowe-Finkbeiner 90). I totally agree with this statement and believe this shows how diverse a feminist can be. There is not one set person to look at to model a feminist after. Feminist do not have a set definition of what they have to be anymore and that makes each individual person to define their definition of feminism relative to their personal idea of it. Everyone doesn’t know that everyday people who aren’t lesbian or have shaved heads are feminist. People generalize feminist so much that they do not understand that everyday, straight people, are feminist and play a major role in the movement. If more people in the media would support the movement it would cause people to realize that anyone can be a feminist and expand the feminist wave more. A lot more people would want to be considered a feminist if their idols on television were doing the same. Mainstream media plays a big role in people’s everyday life and if kids could look up to someone and said they were a feminist it would make kids want to learn more about it at a younger age.
Depending on where you are has a lot to do with your definition of feminism. For instance people across the ocean in Muslim dominated areas have a different idea of equality and there struggle would be different then someone in America. One articles I found that supported this statement was Arab Feminism. This article showed a different view from another culture about what feminism was to them. With all we see in the media about middle easterners and the violence the incurs there daily, it would be hard to fathom them having a women’s rights organizations, but in fact they do. Organizations that are prevalent in the Muslim countries include ‘the Alliance of Arab Women; the Association for the Development and Advancement of Women; Together; Progressive Women’s Union” (Darraj). The women who were in the article wore their veils by choice, but still thought of themselves as feminists.
In today’s society a women is not judged so much on her personality, but rather her exterior features. That is why I feel it is a positive thing that Arabians wear their veils because it is covering up what we adore so much here in America. A women is not just judged based on how cute she is or what type of makeup she has on. She can be looked upon as a person. Even though they have other equalities they need to fight for, the idea of females wearing veils is good, even though the outcome might not be the best. It still oppresses women and makes them feel less of a person. This class has been a great help in realizing in what I need to look for in women. Is it really important for a girl to have to wear make-up, look cute everyday, and have the latest fashions just to be attractive? I used to believe so, I used to only look at a girl for her appearance more than her personality, but this class has opened my eyes to realize a women’s true beauty. I now look for a woman to have a great personality to match her looks and understand her true beauty she has.
Bell Hooks’ arguments were one-sided and hypocritical in her book Feminism is For Everybody. She defined all of feminism based on what it meant to her and she completely threw out anyone else’s opinions that they might have. She says that “one cannon be anti-choice and a feminist” (Hooks 6), but I disagree with this statement. I feel that just because someone doesn’t believe in abortions doesn’t mean they cannot be a feminist because that is not right. People will have different opinions on different issues and everyone will not think alike or agree on the same issues. Bell hooks should not be able to state what defines a feminist and what doesn’t. How can Feminism be For Everyone if she denies people who believe in abortions? She is contradicting her own title of her book. If Feminism is really for everyone, then people who believed in abortions should be able to be feminists.
After this class I classify myself as a feminist and believe that everyone should be treated equal and with respect. I do not feel it is right that men get paid more for the same job as a female does and I do believe that women can perform the same tasks as men with the same effectiveness. I do not agree with all feminist ideas, but I do not feel that makes me less of a feminist. I do not agree with gay marriage because I feel it is not right, but I just do not see it being right, but that is my opinion and everyone has the right to form their own. I don’t agree that women have the choice to get an abortion, but men do not have the choice to not pay child support. Sex is a choice between two individuals and if both do not want to use protection and the woman gets pregnant she is in control. She can then choose to have the baby or not if she chooses, but a man is stuck in limbo waiting on the female to decide which is not right. A man cannot decide he doesn’t want the baby and not pay child support. I feel this is unequal and another argument in itself.
Women are being mistreated worldwide and we need to understand these issues and resolve them. Inequalities is what is holding us back as a nation to achieve equal status for men and women. Men should not look down to women and we should look to them as our equals and not as inferior beings. Feminism to me is whatever is holding a woman back that needs to be addressed. It can range from a variety of issues and everyone has their own. Feminism has grown to be specific to different individuals and that is what makes it so great. Feministic issues are anything that involves issues that are important to women and their succeeding to becoming equal.
I am a proud feminist and will do my best in my career and my future to not discriminate against women. I understand now how big the feminist movement is and I support it. I want to be involved in issues that I feel I could be a help in like feminism in the workplace. I would love to teach others what I have learned in this class, so they will not be ignorant to the fact that there are inequalities in the workplace that need to be addressed.
