There is no doubt that women are amazing. If you think back throughout history, there are so many different types of accomplishments that were achieved by strong confident women. In 1970, Betty Friedan lead the women’s strike for equality, bringing attention to gender discrimination. Fast forward to 1984, Joan Benoit won the first women’s Olympic marathon. In recent time, Kamala Harris became the first woman to hold the title of vice president in the U.S. It took strength and courage to accomplish many of these things and it couldn’t have been easy. Women are still fighting to achieve their goals to this today.
Women have these expatiations and standards that everyone forces on them whether they are men’s expectations for women, or women’s expectations for other women.
Women seem to have expectations based on the way they look and their body figure. A certain type of figure tends to be looked more upon as being more attractive. However, women not only seem to get judged with their figure for attractiveness, but this can also be for a type of job or hobby as well. Take dance as an example. Someone who does ballet is expected to have a certain body type that is slender and bendy. Although to some these expectations can be reachable, some seem to be just out of luck that no one can really control such as having long arms and legs. Does this mean a woman should give up on their dreams of becoming a ballerina? This is just one of many examples of how women are judged based on their figure. Therefore, many women tend to be hard on themselves and are ashamed based on how they look and are afraid to go after what they want.
Lack of respect and not being taken seriously is another struggle women fight for all the time. Women are still considered to be a minority compared to men which can lead to problems, especially in the workplace. Women can be doing the same exact job as men and tend to get paid less of a salary. It could also be the opposite where a woman wants to do a certain job, but the job is considered a man’s job therefore women get held back from their goals and potential. Another scenario could be that men may receive a job promotion even though a woman might be a better candidate with more credentials.
As women, we constantly have to be proving to ourselves and others that we are capable and that’s why we as women should be supporting one another and not knocking each other down.