What makes a woman?
“I am not a girl, but not ready to call myself a woman.” How many others have said this to themselves thinking they cannot handle the title of “woman?”
Check the mail. You have your monthly subscription to Vogue, a letter from mom and dad for your birthday, water bill, electric bill, cable bill and cell phone bill. What do you pick out to read first?
Bills are synonymous with the word “adult,” but does choosing entertainment over responsibility mean you can’t handle the responsibilities that come with being an adult?
Legally speaking, a girl becomes a woman when she turns 18. In traditions around the world girls become women when they undergo a ceremonial tradition.
In the Jewish tradition, a girl becomes a woman when she celebrates her commitment to her faith and recognizes that she’s now responsible for following Jewish law at her Bat Mitzvah.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “woman” defined as “an adult female human being. The counterpart of man.” The term “Girl,” however, is usually meant to signify “young woman.”
What really makes a woman though?
Is it her fully developed body, her exploration of her sexual identity, or her ability to maintain an intelligent conversation?
A group of 28 St. Bonaventure University freshman women were asked whether or not they identified with the title of girl or a woman. Only three identified themselves as a woman, and the other 25 freshmen identified themselves with the word “girl.”
The group that identified with the word “woman” reasoned “woman” best describes them because they are living on their own and now make decisions for themselves.
The group that defined themselves as “girls” reasoned that they can’t financially support themselves, meaning they are dependent upon others at this point in their lives. If they are dependent on others, they reasoned, they cannot say with confidence that they are women.
My male classmates often refer to me as a girl, but why is this? I don’t want to be referred to as a girl. I am a grown woman who has travelled the world, opened lines of credit, pays bills and does her own laundry— all of those things combined I am sure not many of my male classmates have done.
It seems as if the word “girl” and “woman” are interchangeable, but I would never call my mother a “girl.”
Does the title “woman” come with age or does it come with experience?
Determining whether “girl” or “woman” describes your place in life, but does not determine your place in the world.