The fight for gender equality has been going on since the start of time like quotes about being happy with yourself tumblr. The men who believe they are in control and the women who fight to break free. Women have always been oppressed and the law is not always on their side, but women still strive to get what they deserve.
It’s no secret that life as a woman can be difficult, but there are people out there trying to make it better for us. Today we’ll be exploring what it means to be a woman in America from an introspective point of view, analyzing the many different ways in which women are suppressed or empowered by those around them and examining how we can empower ourselves.
1. How are women portrayed in the media?
The way you view the world and everything in it is influenced by the media you consume. The main problem with the media today is that it has a very narrow and unrealistic point of view of what a woman should look like, act like, dress like, and behave like. All too often women are objectified as nothing more than a mannequin for men to stare at or an idea of how he would like other women to act. We see beautiful actresses getting all the attention on screen. Meanwhile, behind the scenes they are probably up against an entire wall of men who don’t even want to give her a chance. I want us to try something. Close your eyes and imagine a woman you know. Now picture a movie that you love starring that person. If you can picture them in your head just like they were in your movie, you need to open your eyes again and stop living in lies.
Women are often portrayed as sex objects in the media, and the woman is always submissive to the man’s needs and desires (unless she is being killed for one of those desires). This creates an unrealistic idea of what it means to be a woman in our society today. Women are still the only ones who have to put up with this kind of crap, but we shouldn’t be accepting it. The media, while still influential, is slowly losing power. Women are creating their own media through blogging, writing poetry and stories, and so much more. If a woman wants to write a book she can create her own style of writing and things will start changing. We all need to look into ourselves and decide what we really want for ourselves in order for our society as a whole to change.
2. Are women treated equally?
Being treated equally means that we have equal opportunity under the law; equal rights, privileges or opportunities (ex: women receiving the same pay as a man). That women are consulted equally in matters that affect them; fairly, justly and without discrimination depending on age, gender and other factors. That they are accorded equal respect, dignity and status as men. That is what equality means to me.
However that’s not the case for most of us. We don’t have equal opportunities because we aren’t given an equal chance at the beginning of it all. If a boy is born into a rich family with parents who will pay for his college and give him everything money can buy then he will grow up to be a privileged man who thinks he deserves all that he has been given by nature. Meanwhile, if a girl is born into a family with parents who are struggling day to day and barely making it she won’t always have the chance to go to college or get a good job once she gets out of high school. The world isn’t going out of its way to make life easier for women either. Some women can’t get jobs because they can’t find daycare for their children or they only have one parent to help them and they both work. Some can’t get jobs because of the time they have to take off to have a child, while their male coworkers take no time off and keep their positions, getting a promotion while the women are stuck at the same rank. There has never been equal pay for equal work in anything.
An excellent example of how life is not fair is how much money women make compared to men. Women make less than men at all levels in every career. Currently, women earn 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. Women are still paid less than men for the same work and if that isn’t enough evidence of how women are treated under the law, then I don’t know what is. Most companies must provide male and female employees with the same benefits and pay equally or face hefty fines or even prison time. However, many companies choose to give their female workers an allowance rather than pay them equally. This means that if you have a baby, you might have to take time off on top of your leave while they raise your child so they can make more money than you in the long run.
