The feminist cause has achieved plenty in history, but women still earn less money than men, suffer domestic violence and face sexual assault. If we want real gender equality, we still have a long way to go. The first steps we need to take involve changing the way we degrade women without even realizing it.
First of all, a woman is so much more than just a body. In today’s culture, women are regularly sexualized and objectified. Girls are emphasized as eye candy so heavily that a catcall is meant to be a compliment. I’ve seen numerous boys wear t-shirts with nude women posing provocatively, as if they are sex pets. When women are portrayed in such a manner, they are cheapened to toys meant for playing with. It’s time that we see more in women than just twerking and sex. Just stop staring at your classmate’s butt and we’re already making progress.
Gender stereotyping causes people to tie femininity with descriptions like sensitive, graceful and passive, while masculinity is associated with strong, aggressive and confident. A lady with strong language, assertiveness, a low voice and physical strength is usually considered unfeminine or unattractive, while a man with sensitivity, submission and a higher voice is scrutinized as feminine or even wimpy. I’m not going to cross my legs just because it’s more elegant, but that doesn’t make me any less of a girl. With this emphasis on weakness, there is again less value to the woman.
In addition, women are commonly conventionalized as domestic beings and expected to fulfill their duties as the nurturer. Your father and mother are not built so differently that he cannot handle the same chores, yet people assume that it is her job is to nurture the child, cook and clean. It’s considered masculine to bring home the money, but shamefully feminine to stay at home. Don’t allow this to be ingrained in your head, because your mothers are being degraded as the lesser spouses.
Changing your viewpoint on women might seem like too small an action to achieve something so great, but it’s the little steps that will help bring true equality.