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This week in class we discussed what our individual views were about women and their roles, and more specifically what makes a woman a woman. Initially before the discussion began, I had the notion that a woman is classy, intelligent, well-spoken, respectful and respected and knows her self worth. When I take a look around at the women I consider role models, these are the characteristics they constantly reflect. It made me wonder, have they always been this way? Or have their experiences constructed them this way? Not to say that their parents didn’t play a role in their development (duh), but everyone is a product of their environment. This lead me to think about all of the trauma women have to deal with for simply being a woman and how it affects their well-being. Everyday women are facing the same battles: rape, harassment, molestation, abduction, and not to mention the ongoing war with sexism in America. Women occupy about 51% of this country, yet are only represented by a mere 19% in congress. This information clearly illustrates a division between men and women in our country. It seems as though there is a deep rooted issue within the mentality of this country and how we view women: women are not trusted to run this country because they are viewed as less than and weaker than men. We are not viewed as equals and this places a huge detriment on the progress of women in this country, and I have yet to even brush over the effects of sexual assault. The mental, physical and spiritual pain that women must carry with them after having an encounter with a sexual predator, requires a type of strength that no man could ever bench press. As I write this and reconsider my views of females and what characteristics I would use to describe them, I would say that a women is a beautiful complex. Women are strong, entitled, respected, appreciated, uplifting, understanding and most importantly underestimated- which actually works in our favor. We will reconstruct the doubt we receive and only utilize it as fuel to achieve each and every accomplishment we set out for ourselves. Nonetheless, any accomplishment we do achieve will be well deserved -indeed.
This week in class we discussed what our individual views were about women and their roles, and more specifically what makes a woman a woman. Initially before the discussion began, I had the notion that a woman is classy, intelligent, well-spoken, respectful and respected and knows her self worth. When I take a look around at the women I consider role models, these are the characteristics they constantly reflect. It made me wonder, have they always been this way? Or have their experiences constructed them this way? Not to say that their parents didn’t play a role in their development (duh), but everyone is a product of their environment. This lead me to think about all of the trauma women have to deal with for simply being a woman and how it affects their well-being. Everyday women are facing the same battles: rape, harassment, molestation, abduction, and not to mention the ongoing war with sexism in America. Women occupy about 51% of this country, yet are only represented by a mere 19% in congress. This information clearly illustrates a division between men and women in our country. It seems as though there is a deep rooted issue within the mentality of this country and how we view women: women are not trusted to run this country because they are viewed as less than and weaker than men. We are not viewed as equals and this places a huge detriment on the progress of women in this country, and I have yet to even brush over the effects of sexual assault. The mental, physical and spiritual pain that women must carry with them after having an encounter with a sexual predator, requires a type of strength that no man could ever bench press. As I write this and reconsider my views of females and what characteristics I would use to describe them, I would say that a women is a beautiful complex. Women are strong, entitled, respected, appreciated, uplifting, understanding and most importantly underestimated- which actually works in our favor. We will reconstruct the doubt we receive and only utilize it as fuel to achieve each and every accomplishment we set out for ourselves. Nonetheless, any accomplishment we do achieve will be well deserved -indeed.
I really like your thoughts in this post. Very sad, and yet very true about how women are represented less then men throughout the years.
ReplyDeleteNice post, I really liked that last picture you included. It was simple but packs a lot of meaning.
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