Women: How are we portrayed by the society?
By Vivett Hemans
EDI 17 Psychology & Development of Adolescent Students
School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
March 18, 2009
I read a book a few years ago entitled Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Today's class session brought the book back to my remembrance in such a vivid and more relevant way. In the book, which is set in China circa the mid 1800's, none of the women, with the exception of Third Sister, knew themselves aside from being beautiful adornments for their husbands. They were indoctrinated from a very young age to believe that their sole purpose in life was to have their feet bound so that they could get a husband and be a servant to him and his family.
This, in my observation, is so warped; and yet, we see this same fixation with gender socialization and false perceptions of beauty for women/girls in our own American society. We're stuck on stupid when it comes to our looks. Girls as young as seven and eight are concerned with their weight and some are even on diets. The media is flooded with false and unrealistic ideas and images of what the ideal women should look like. There is an undercurrent of urgency and desperation to "get and keep a man" that is driving many women to the plastic surgeon's office in droves.
Our society teaches girls that they must look a certain way if they want to attract the attention of a man. Little consideration is given to ensuring high self esteem, self-worth and self-concept in our girls. We fail to indoctrinate them with the knowledge that they, girls who will grow into fine women, are our best and most coveted natural resources.
In order for there to be a paradoxical change in the way women are viewed, mothers, fathers, teaches and coaches must teach girls and boys about being beautiful inside. Kind hearts and caring souls need to be cultivated, first and foremost. We have to exemplify for our girls, the change that we want to see. As a society, we all bear the responsibility for ensuring that future generations have more positive images and less restrictive expectations for women.
Long Island University, C. W. Post
March 18, 2009
I read a book a few years ago entitled Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Today's class session brought the book back to my remembrance in such a vivid and more relevant way. In the book, which is set in China circa the mid 1800's, none of the women, with the exception of Third Sister, knew themselves aside from being beautiful adornments for their husbands. They were indoctrinated from a very young age to believe that their sole purpose in life was to have their feet bound so that they could get a husband and be a servant to him and his family.
This, in my observation, is so warped; and yet, we see this same fixation with gender socialization and false perceptions of beauty for women/girls in our own American society. We're stuck on stupid when it comes to our looks. Girls as young as seven and eight are concerned with their weight and some are even on diets. The media is flooded with false and unrealistic ideas and images of what the ideal women should look like. There is an undercurrent of urgency and desperation to "get and keep a man" that is driving many women to the plastic surgeon's office in droves.
Our society teaches girls that they must look a certain way if they want to attract the attention of a man. Little consideration is given to ensuring high self esteem, self-worth and self-concept in our girls. We fail to indoctrinate them with the knowledge that they, girls who will grow into fine women, are our best and most coveted natural resources.
In order for there to be a paradoxical change in the way women are viewed, mothers, fathers, teaches and coaches must teach girls and boys about being beautiful inside. Kind hearts and caring souls need to be cultivated, first and foremost. We have to exemplify for our girls, the change that we want to see. As a society, we all bear the responsibility for ensuring that future generations have more positive images and less restrictive expectations for women.
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