Monday, December 17, 2012

Females portrayed as weak and defenceless

   I just want to clarify something. Just because I'm a woman, doesn't mean that I'm weak. And many people-especially peers that I go to school with- feel the need to judge women on what they should and shouldn't do. For a long time, women have been pushed around by men, been told what to do, been told that they're more superior and intelligent than us. But that isn't the case. We shouldn't be categorized as the people who should "Be in the kitchen" or being the "stay at home mother". We should be able to go out there, and get a job, and do things of that nature without getting criticized. One of the issues today is that people can be very judgemental on topics such as these, especially young adults-like myself- like to be aware of topics like this. One of the problems that I face as a 15 year old sophomore is sexuality. I'm openly bisexual, and I'm not afraid for people to know. What a lot of people forget is that not everyone is straight, so for instance [this is an example of something that can be and is fairly common in middle school or elementary school, and even the beginning of high school] say I was to sit down next to a boy, and I started kindly chatting with him. I would most likely be put under the category of dating that person just because of that simple act that I performed. But yet, it seems as though if I talk to a girl, the same doesn't happen. They assume that you're acquaintances or friends.
      Moving to another example, in today's world, we are in a society that judges greatly on looks. Whether it's how much makeup you put on, or how thin you are. People expect you to be perfect. Many girls, young adults, women, of all ages suffer from the pressure of society to tell you and show you how you should look; how you're supposed to look. I'm not perfect, and I'm not thin or skinny, or even flawless. I'm not any of those things. But I'm not saying that you should just go around and put yourself down all the time, I'm telling you that you shouldn't let the pressure of society get to you. You're your own person and you need to have an idea in your head of what you want for yourself. Say you want to lose 15 pounds. Make that happen, plan it out, and you can succeed in doing the task. But whether it's plastic surgery, or botox or something of that nature, you're still not perfect. You've modified your appearance to be something that you don't it to be because of the pressure of society. You don't have to look cover girl beautiful or have a perfect body to determine whether you're a good person or not.
Another thing is masculinity. Girls today-especially in comics- are portrayed as skinny, but strong girls. I'm not complaining about the figure, but I think it would be reasonable that the creators would put some meat on their bones. It seems nearly impossible for a girl that weighs 100 pounds to go ahead and lift a car that weighs innumerable tons.
      The other day I was in Target with my 23 year old cousin, and he pointed out an action figure that was a female Hulk. He made a very reasonable comment on how the figure was barely strong, but yet, the original Hulk was larger, and looked more angry.
Do women not have the same emotions as they do now? Or is it just stereotypical to assume that women never get angry? That we're not strong?
It's ridiculous. And as a 15 year old, I still have my whole life ahead of me to help and make problems like this change.

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