F E M I N I S M
What is Feminism?
It's the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of equality of the sexes. Feminism is about advancing women to a point where they are equal to men. Feminism is not about bashing men and is not about women becoming superior to men. It's unfair that women recieve less just because throughout history they've been viewed as less. We are not less, we are humans able to do what "men" could do.
"She needed a hero, so that's what she became" -Anonymous
Background
Humans started out hunting and gathering. The women would gather and the men would hunt. Humans were not settled so children were about 4 years apart. When humans began settling into homes women had more children. This is what started the association of women with being in the house and men with being the breadwinners. This caused the stereotyping of both sexes. Women were at home preparing the house for the man. Women had to be the nurturers of the household. This included not being outspoken, staying in the house and depending only on their partners. Men were out working hard for the house. Men had to be tough, emotionless and outspoken. The division between men and women is present throughout all cultures.
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Typical Women Stereotypes:
Emotional
Weak
Always Thinking About Men and Trying to Impress Them
Housewife
Being Dumb
EXPLANATION OF THE STEREOTYPES
Stereotype: Emotional
What's its History?
When women express how they are feeling, whether it is good or bad, they are seen as emotional. This comes from people believing that women are irrational and think with their emotions rather than their minds. This hinders all women especially when in the workforce because when they express emotions they are seen as not suit for their positions and are typically labeled as being on their periods.
Debunk:
Women are not emotional beings. Your sex does not make you more biologically intune with your emotions. Emotions do not hinder someone in a place of power. Emotions show empathy and humanity. It is okay to be an emotional person but just because you are a women that expresses emotions does not mean that you are an emotional person. Just because you are emotional and good at expressing how you feel does not mean that you are irrational.
Stories:
"As the only female in my office, I feel like I work in a frat house. I am constantly the butt of jokes, which for the most part I can take but sometimes it goes much too far. One day at lunch, I told them it felt as if I was constantly ganged up on and I'm tired of it. My boss responded, 'Why are girls always so emotional?!' And the VP said,'Isn't that every woman's dream, to be ganged up on?' I stormed out of the the office, and ever since then, they've gone to the extreme and treated me like I'm fragile"-Caitlin
Stereotype: Weak
What's its History?
Women being tied to the house led them to being the nurturers of the house. Women are supposed to be quiet and nice. This leads to people believing that women are the weaker sex. Since women are weak they should not play sports or do anything that requires being strong. Strength is required for high positions in work and perseverance.
Debunk:
Women are strong people. Women push humans out of them in order to populate earth. 83% of single parent households are female lead. Women are strong because they have to be. They don’t have room for weakness.
Stories:
"After being begged to play in a co-ed office baseball team (they needed another girl), I was not allowed to really play. I stood at second base, and the male shortstop made sure he played both positions, never giving me a chance to touch the ball, believing girls can't play baseball"-Queen
Sterotype: Always Thinking About Men
What's its History?
Since men were seen as breadwinners and women were not able to work historically women had to adjust themselves in order to find a husband. This was technically a survival method because women were capable of working but weren’t allowed to. Marriage was a way of living. This was represented with events such as the Debutante Ball. As a society we have been able to evolve pass thinking that women should not be in the workplace but still struggle with realizing that women do not do everything seeking attention from men. Presently with rape and assault cases we can see that countlessly women are branded as “asking for it”. If they are wearing revealing clothing or just existing, in sexual assault cases people like to make the argument of that is “what she wanted to happen” or “what did she expect.”
Debunk:
This one is not that hard to debunk. I can speak from personal experience that women do not get up and think to themselves what will a man think about what I am wearing today. If that thought does cross a woman’s mind it is more along the lines of a hope someone does not misinterpret my outfit as me craving attention and approach me demeaningly.
Stories:
"My boss let me know he liked the split in my skirt. Believe me, it wasn't much of a slit since it was part of a suit. I think it showed two to three inches above my knee when I sat down."-Queen
Stereotype: Housewife
What's its History?
The housewife stereotype comes from women being associated with the house. The working woman and mother are more presented in society but some women are still housewives and get judged because of it. Housewives are seen as lazy, unambitious, gold diggers and passive. They are viewed as lazy and unambitious because they are not getting up and working for their families. They are viewed as gold diggers because their partner is usually well off to the point where they do not have to work and they think that is the reason that the woman married her partner. When people imagine housewives they imagine very stereotypical “domesticated” women. Those women don’t share how they feel or think for themselves.
Debunk:
While there are still housewives they do not behave the way that people think. Women could be housewives with brains who choose not to work. Housewives are no longer women who use marriage as a survival method. Housewives are women who worked for as long as they needed to women who need to stay home or women who inherited their money. Anyone can decide to stop working and stay at home.
Stories:
Personal Experience: My friends mother does not work or go out anywhere alone. Her husband doesn't want to teach her how to drive because she "belongs at home." For that same reason she does not work, taking care of the house and the children is her work. She is not lazy, unambitious, or a gold digger, she is a very strong woman. Because of her husbands jealousy and "macho" personality, she basically has no say in terms of working and earning the money.
Stereotype: Dumb
What's its History?
Women were not in the workforce originally. Once women were able to get into the workforce it has been a long journey of climbing into higher positions and more complex fields. Underrepresentation of women in this fields also leads to a routine of pursuing less complex fields. Women in these fields such as computer science are deemed bossy and not being feminine because of trying to pursue such a complex path. Women are capable of working in these fields but are not represented in these fields and are not judged by society because they are “straying from the pack”.
Debunk:
Women are capable of working in these fields but are not represented in these fields and are not judged by society because they are “straying from the pack”. Once women do go for careers that are more challenging they recieve stereotyping from people around them then they encounter possible employers that do not want to employ them because they believe those stereotypes. Women are smart but are often put under so much pressure to conform that they are not in more complex and “smart” fields.
Stories:
"I was the token woman. All other women in the office were secretaries. Many of the men believed I was there only because they were forced to hire a woman. It took a long time to get most of them to recognize my intelligence and value"-Queen
More Stories
- 4% of women are unemployed in the U.S but only 32 Fortune 500 CEOs are women.
- 19.6% of people in congress are women
- 1 in 8 women in the U.S are impoverished.
So How Can We Fix This?
The stereotyping of women hinders them financially. Women cannot succeed in a society that perceives them as less even before they open their mouths and truly show people who they are. Not only can they not reach certain heights in their career but have to subconsciously block out doubts that are results of functioning in this society. Women are not emotional and if they ever show emotions it's not because they're on their periods. Women are not weak they are literally strong from birthing babies and having to populate a society that demeans them. Women do not dress, act and talk for a man’s enjoyment. First of all she could be gay. Second of all women do what makes them happy they do not process every action while considering what men will think of them. Women do not have to be in the house under a mans control, we are all independent beings. It is okay to set goals to achieve and be just as, if not more, ambitious than a man. Women are not slow. Having to duck and dodge a world where people think that you shouldn’t be educated or automatically assume that you are not educated forces you to inherit some knowledge. Being advancely educated despite oppression shows that women are not stupid. Bias is unavoidable and we cannot be aware of what we have subconsciously internalized unless we talk about it. To make the world a better place and do your part you can simply change the way you think. Read more about women and their experiences and actively try not to act as a perpetrator. We cannot help the fact that when we look at someone we process their sex but we can change and teach other people to change as well.