-
You know how cosmo has all these articles about sex n bodily occupations * be they fashion,work outs,food* etc... well I somehow have an issue of cosmo that had instantly attracted my attention. The cover had a picture of a super sexy amazon, who seemed to belong to some paradise, and there was a bold title that read "Butt seriously".
So here's what I did the first time I saw that issue: I grabbed the mag,browsed hastily through the contents in search for that article. which,naturally, turned out to be more about pictures *of perfect models that only exist on mag pages* than useful words.
I personally think that cosmo limits the female mind, and worse yet, draws a negative image of it. I mean ok, I like fashion and i like lotsa other things that every other girl likes...I *am* a girl. But this doesn't mean that I'm all about that, and that only. It just serves to quench my thirst for fashion and accessories and things of the sort. But what about my brain? my knowledge? my intellectual horizon?
I don't know who to blame. Girls, the media, or male-dominated socities? In a way I find it right to blame all three.
Girls strive to gain the approval of guys or ,men. The media encourages this fever by displaying and trasnmitting messages that tell girls to go do WHATEVER IT TAKES to look good, in other words, to satisfy men's desires. Society encourages this even more, because it is dominated by men and men want what they want. They want perfect looking girls who are centered on the sole idea of pleasing them. Men generally control the media,so they reflect this social tendency in the media. It's like a loop.
* I seriously am NOT against men or anything. It just so happens that what I say makes sense to me. Relax, I like guys... OH, and I am straight <<<< stress that *
So back to my argument ..
I think that in many ways women are treated as inferior beings to men. The reasons for that are many, I won't go through them now because I'm simply not in the mood for that. But anyhow, my point is this : we have gotten so used to treating women the way we do, that it doesn't seem wrong anymore. It doesn't annoy us nor does it annoy women themselves due to deeply-rooted ignorance in our societies. So feminists say things, I don't necessarily agree with everything they say, but there's alot of right in most of their presentations. And we reject their ideas completely. Why? Because they are different. and they are not like everything we've been brought up to believe is right, they contrast with our own beliefs which we have never questioned. In a way, we are in the wrong, and we are not trying to get out of it. Saying this, I am not implying that we should accept extremist feminist opinions, all I'm saying is that we have this constant fear of opening the door lest our ideas turn out to be wrong.
Funny how when I say these things to friends, female friends sometimes, I find some opposition. It's also heart breaking how many girls are unaware of this fact. That they lack many things, that there is more to life than pleasing your boyfriend by looking so hot and sassy. What pains me the most is that they don't even want to try to understand what I say, and I think that's because of a limited mental capability that's caused mainly by our deformed upbringing.
People are prejudiced against female thinkers or achievers. They immediately associate feminine success with some type of failure in another field, mainly social or physical. A thought that is in circulation is that if a female is successful then she must be either lifeless,nerdy,or ugly. * sometimes all three* Here's the equation :
Successful female = No life + Book Dweller + Ugly
Needless to say, such an equation doesn't exist for successful men. The equation in that case is somewhat like this :
Successful male = Perfect social life + Intelligence + Stable financial status (Consequently achieving satisfaction via women and earthly pleasures )
I got the chance of talking with so many people about this. I believe that women are capable, as much as men -if not more- of achieving any goal they want. This idea is generally ridiculed and disregarded in the course of discussion. The counter argument would almost always be something along the lines of : "Women were created to be mothers only. A woman should stay at home. A woman exists to please the man. Women should not compete with men financially because that "disrupts" the balance of life." Well there are no sufficient words that could possibly describe how much I disagree with that.
I can't see why a woman can't be a great mother and a great achiever outside the confinement of four walls. I can't see why an achieving woman should look any less appealing to the eyes of men. I can't see why she can't have her own financial stability. I'll tell you what I think... I think most men are insecure and are raised with the notion that they are superior to women. Therefore,any sort of competition shakes their balance and famous ego. In their minds, they should be always "better" than women. Simply because they are called something else "men". So when a woman is successful, they feel threatened that she might be more capable of achieving the dreams she aspires to than they are. They start inventing stories about her being a rebel who does not stick to the rules of society and who is a general disgrace. These ideas are also instilled in other women that are controlled by these men,and this explains the anti-feminist females. *the severity of this judgement varies from one society to another*
I don't mean to sound aggressive or judgmental. Some men are capable of admitting that women can excel, and are so open minded that they share a woman's success and accept it. Why shouldn't they? Women do not threaten men. We are all one.
In my own way, I think I am trying to reflect an image of an intellectual female. I am trying to dismiss that same idea that says that if a female is intellectual then she's ugly. I am pretty and I am smart. And I speak from my own experience when I admit that it has threatened many guys whom I've gotten to know. They are not used to dealing with a girl who is not all about pleasing them,but who also has her opinion in things. I can't help them in that department, because I will not change as long as I find myself reflecting my beliefs.
Again I find it essential to stress this point : I am not against men,be they successful or not. I am not an extremist. I have carefully observed how things run in the world around me and formed my opinion accordingly. Think for yourself, then judge. Do not repeat a commonplace comment that you have heard somewhere. Think and be just.
On a final note, have you ever noticed how even language is bias in this regard? I always use the mixed pronouns he/she when I write. It's only fair.
]]>
