There’s no doubt that women used to be unfairly treated, but that time is behind us. This article, The Beauty Myth, is absolutely useless and it presents no valid points. Women got what they wanted, but this article suggests that what they got was a lie. It is an undeniable fact that both men and woman will always face problems, but that isn’t a sign of discrimination.
In the article it says, “The affluent, educated, liberated women of the First World, who can enjoy freedoms unavailable to any women before, do not feel as free as they want to.” This article agrees with the fact that women are fully liberated and that they can now pursue the highest of educations. Yet, Naomi Wolf, the author, doesn’t find it the least bit contradictory to present this statement. The matter of the fact is that, it is contradictory. Wolf goes on to say, “American women told researchers that they would rather lose ten to fifteen pounds than achieve any other goal.” It is sad? Yes, of course it is, but it is most definitely not a result of discrimination towards women. In fact, men face the same problem, there’s no doubt in my mind that a man would rather look strong and impressive than anything else. Shall we now write an article about how men are being discriminated? No, of course not, that would preposterous just like this article’s baseless accusations.
This article makes a joke out of the struggle that women have faced previously. However, if the accusation of discrimination would’ve been brought in a book like The Handmaid’s Tale then it is absolutely justified. The women in the book had absolutely no rights; handmaid’s weren’t even taught how read or write. They couldn’t express their opinions or thoughts at any given time. Accusing men of not letting women be free because of looks is a far-fetched and ridiculous claim. We live in a society that has made its people accustomed to the idea of looking ‘good.’ This pressure is not only felt by women, but by men as well. However, we learn to live with it because we know that complaining isn’t going to change the public’s state of mind. No matter how much you protest people will always judge you by your looks and you will only be called ‘pretty’ by the society if you wear nice clothes, have nice hair, and an appealing body.
There’s no use in complaining, the world functions this way, women are meant to be slim and pretty; and men are meant to be strong and handsome. Women should be grateful and proud of how far they have gotten, and in my opinion, they are now equal to men. Men were wrong in the past to discriminate against women, but that world no longer exists. Accept the way society functions, and live a happy life knowing that women have achieved a great deal of things in the past 30 to 40 years.
Okay, so men and women both face problems, I agree. But would you say that men face problems to the same degree as women? Yes, it is pleasing for men to be strong and impressive, but if they are not, are they ostracized or disadvantaged in society because of it? Not a bit. But if women are ugly and fat, they are immediately ditched. I can think of many movies that have ugly guys as protagonists but there are very few that have ugly girls as main characters. In political campaigns in the US, Hilary Clinton and Sarah Palin were constantly sexualized for their looks whereas male politicians were not given a comment about their looks.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I would be careful about saying that women are “now equal to men”. Would you say that women in Indian village are treated equal to men? Would you say that the women in Congo who are being raped daily are considered as equals? Would you say that women in East Asian countries who are constraint by their strict traditions are equals? Sadly, I can go on forever with this list. And acceptance to this kind of world is not a solution for us, for it will continuously “grind” us down.
All right! So, first of all, when I said women are now equal to men I was directing it towards the person who wrote the article. Sorry if that confused you.
ReplyDeleteYou said, "Would you say that women in Indian village are treated equal to men? Would you say that the women in Congo who are being raped daily are considered as equals? Would you say that women in East Asian countries who are constraint by their strict traditions are equals?" I can say the exact same thing about men. What about the men that go into battle everyday in Afghanistan and get blown into tiny little pieces? What about the 15 year old kids who are being used as terrorist recruitments? What about the little baby boys that are being purposely born in the U.S so that they can have a U.S passport and are later forced to blow themselves up saying 'Allah Oh Akbar'? Sadly, I can go on forever with this list. Oh no wait, you said that, the fact that men and women both have extremes only emphasizes upon the fact that they are equal. Whatever problems you will find with women, men have them too; it’s just in different situations.
Secondly, when you say, "But if women are ugly and fat, they are immediately ditched." I'm afraid I don't understand what you are referring to; so, I’ll use the example you gave me (The Film industry). I believe it was Gabourey Sidibe who was endlessly praised about her LEAD role in "Precious". I regret to say this but she is overweight and yet she got nominated for best actress during the Oscars. I believe your accusations are false and baseless. Respectfully, I stand by what I said in my blog and the title conveys my opinion well.