Growing up as a female, society has felt entitled to make judgments and guidelines on my strength, my education, my body and my ability in business.
From an early age, girls are told that boys are supposed to be the strong ones. We’re dressed in pink and read fairy tales about how the prince rescues the princess from a dragon or a deep sleep. Damsels in distress were our role models, and stereotypes that depicted women as weak were introduced to us. This made us believe that some day our prince would come, and save us from all of our problems. But where were the stories where the princess saved herself?
Moving onto middle school where most girls begin to start puberty. The female body changes earlier than the male. In my hometown, we get our introduction to sexual education in fifth grade. The genders were split up and given separate presentations. To be honest, I would have loved to be a fly on the wall in the boy’s presentation when they started talking about breasts. Couldn’t we have learned together?
I was embarrassed to tell my friends when I started getting my period in 6th grade. I remember slyly shoving pads or tampons up the sleeve of my shirt before leaving class to go to the bathroom because I didn’t want anyone to see the outline in my pocket and suspect anything. Society tells us that periods are shameful and we shouldn’t talk about them in public. But why should we be embarrassed? It’s only a natural part of being a woman and something that all of us go through.
High school was where the real sexualization of our bodies began. My school had very strict dress code regulations that girls needed to abide by in order to not be “distracting”. You could not wear tank tops that were less than three inches wide. All dresses, skirts and shorts had to be fingertip length and hit the knee or below. If a teacher or administrator thought you were breaking conduct, you were given an ugly grey gym t-shirt to change into (and everyone knew why), or you were sent home to change into a more “school-appropriate outfit”. The only regulation that boys had on their attire was not wearing inappropriate sayings or logos on their t-shirts.
In college, we’re introduced to the realities of rape culture and sexual assaults that take place across campuses all over the world. With many students experimenting with alcohol and drugs in college, it puts them at a greater risk for sexual assault. According to anti-sexual assault organization RAINN “Women ages 18-24 who are college students are 3 times more likely than women in general to experience sexual violence”. Title IX and sexual violence policies are in place to protect students from gender discrimination and assault, but what happens when someone turns a blind eye?
A testament to this is the convicted Stanford rapist Brock Turner’s severely lenient sentence. Turner was sentenced to serve 6 months in prison, on 3 felony charges for the rape of an unconscious woman on campus. He only served 3 months before being released. His father was quoted saying that the 6-month sentence was, “a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action”. His disregard for the victim his son sexually assaulted as well as the leniency of the court shows Brock Turner, and everyone else for that matter, that a male can rape a female and get away with it.
In the workplace, women are naturally perceived to be weaker than their male co-workers and are often given tasks below their skill set. They are also judged higher for their looks than their male colleagues and are more brutally judged for voicing their opinions. Wome are expected to have kids and quit their jobs, and even though this type of job discrimination is illegal, this ideal will keep some women from being hired.
However, now more than ever there is a dominating female presence in the workforce. Women are holding higher level C-suite positions in companies and branching out with their own ventures as CEOs.
This election was one of the most pivotal moments in our country’s history. Our President Donald Trump has made numerous sexist comments (Don’t even get me started on the “Grab ’em by the pussy” ordeal) not only about women’s appearances and bodies but also regarding our health issues. His administration wants to tell us what we can and cannot do with our bodies. Regardless of political opinion, shouldn’t we be able to call the shots when dealing with our bodies? I don’t remember inviting Donald Trump into my gynecology appointments, do you?
How To Harness Your Own GirlPower
As women, we have a responsibility to break these stereotypes that society has been forcing down our throats since we were little girls. It’s an exciting time to be a woman because we can help to influence change. You don’t need to be a public figure to voice your opinion and be an advocate for women’s rights. You can do this in your everyday life. If we stop letting the world treat us like we are inferior, we can command the respect we deserve.
Let’s speak up for ourselves when men catcall us as we’re walking down the street.
Let’s advocate for the victims of sexual assault and help them to seek justice.
Let’s fight for the right for all women to have access to affordable healthcare, in any way they need it.
Let’s teach our daughters to be strong, independent women who don’t feel like they need to be saved.
Let’s make a pact, as women, to lift each other up and incite real change.
This all begins with us. Now let’s get started.