Being Female in the 21st Century
Ok, so I'm taking this equity course as an exit this semester and fortunately most of our discussions are online, which means I get to write some thoughtful pieces! We've been disucssing what it is to be female for the past couple of weeks. The following is a post I recently made in regards to the topic at hand and thought I might share. Please, feel free to comment!
Being a female in today’s society has become quite different, in my opinion, than ever before. Nonetheless, although the concept of being female has evolved much in the world, many things haven’t changed since the years of the women’s suffrage movement. Just decades ago, women in the United States were still seen as second class citizens and thereby had essentially no rights. In fact, the right to vote wasn’t fully granted until 1920.
I consider myself quite lucky to have been raised in such times as these because I feel I have had a great advantage over many of my predecessors. I have always grown up learning that women were equal to their male counterparts, not the same, but equal! I was taught through teachers, family, and religious leaders alike that a woman has God given rights that every human being is born with. Such rights can not be taken away by anyone. Moreover, a woman has just as much potential as any man. Nonetheless, because of the fact that men and women are not the same, each has an individual responsibility that the other may not be able to fulfill. For example, women are biologically different than men and therefore can give birth, whereas men do not have this capability.
As far as the educational and workplace settings, growing up, I was taught that there was no difference in the intelligence levels of males and females. Although, this is something that has been debated by scientists and philosophers and even laymen in the mainstream media for years. Further, I learned that both have the equal potential to become successful individuals in the school and workplace alike.
Although, many times, your upbringing is not reflected in the society you live in. The media has had a large say in what "being female" is all about. Sadly, often, I feel the media has done a great injustice in portraying women as mere sex objects and nothing more. We may have advanced as a society from the typical house maker role, but how advanced have we become when we have allowed man to impose that we strive to become the next "top model"? How advanced have we become when we have allowed man to decide which female candidate is the better looking to decide who gets the promotion? How advanced have we become when we have allowed man to dictate, once again, who we are! I can’t help but wonder, is this really an advancement?
Being a female in today’s society has become quite different, in my opinion, than ever before. Nonetheless, although the concept of being female has evolved much in the world, many things haven’t changed since the years of the women’s suffrage movement. Just decades ago, women in the United States were still seen as second class citizens and thereby had essentially no rights. In fact, the right to vote wasn’t fully granted until 1920.
I consider myself quite lucky to have been raised in such times as these because I feel I have had a great advantage over many of my predecessors. I have always grown up learning that women were equal to their male counterparts, not the same, but equal! I was taught through teachers, family, and religious leaders alike that a woman has God given rights that every human being is born with. Such rights can not be taken away by anyone. Moreover, a woman has just as much potential as any man. Nonetheless, because of the fact that men and women are not the same, each has an individual responsibility that the other may not be able to fulfill. For example, women are biologically different than men and therefore can give birth, whereas men do not have this capability.
As far as the educational and workplace settings, growing up, I was taught that there was no difference in the intelligence levels of males and females. Although, this is something that has been debated by scientists and philosophers and even laymen in the mainstream media for years. Further, I learned that both have the equal potential to become successful individuals in the school and workplace alike.
Although, many times, your upbringing is not reflected in the society you live in. The media has had a large say in what "being female" is all about. Sadly, often, I feel the media has done a great injustice in portraying women as mere sex objects and nothing more. We may have advanced as a society from the typical house maker role, but how advanced have we become when we have allowed man to impose that we strive to become the next "top model"? How advanced have we become when we have allowed man to decide which female candidate is the better looking to decide who gets the promotion? How advanced have we become when we have allowed man to dictate, once again, who we are! I can’t help but wonder, is this really an advancement?
posted by Unknown | 3:01 PM
1 Comments:
This is a very interesting blog ! I'm definitely going to bookmark you!
I have a business site/blog. It pretty much covers business related stuff.
Come and check it out if you get time
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