I'm Just a Girl

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Recommended: Gender inequality in the modern world

Take this pink ribbon off my eyes
I’m exposed and it’s no big surprise
Don’t you think I know exactly where I stand
This world is forcing me to hold your hand.
Cause I’m just a girl
Oh, little old me
Well don’t let me out of your sight
Oh, I’m just a girl
A pretty effigy
So don’t let me have any rights
Oh, I’ve had it up to here. (No Doubt).
Being a female and all it entails has not altered much since the beginning of time. Today, in the 21st century, we may be able to vote, hold property, and work, but the view on what it should mean to be a female has changed little. Women are expected to be thin, but still have curves, with long hair, makeup, and clothing that reveal their over-sexualized bodies. Women are also expected to be pure, to not flaunt their sexuality in society, but also not be a prude. If women do not conform to these specific requirements, set by society, then they are not respected nor are they considered to be an object of desire. All of these standards are set by men, as society is still highly patriarchal, despite the “progress” women have made. Even as children, the ideal woman is forced into our minds, with Disney princesses always looking perfect, and of course, their destiny is only achieved when they are rescued by a man, who they dutifully marry and live happily ever after with.
Before college, I had a somewhat archaic view when it came to being a feminist. While I understood the need, or desire, for some women to consider themselves feminists, I did not count myself as one of them. This is not say that I was okay with being treated like a doll or a weakling, but rather I was content with just being feminine and I accepted the fact that I would probably marry some man, have lots of children, and that ...

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...our patriarchal society as they have ever been, throughout history. Not only does society still push these traditional views of the female sex on women, but women still, more often than not, follow suit, conforming to society’s exact standards, even altering their bodies to the idea beauty image. Girls, at a young age, are flooded with images instructing them of how to be the perfect woman when they grow up, with movies that promote heterosexual marriage and procreation, and actresses, musicians, and models in the media representing how the female body is supposed to look. Though I do plan to marry one day and have children, I will never again give up my power as a woman. Because of feminist writers, such as Wollstonecraft, Woolf, and Cixous, I understand how valuable it is to control my own destiny as a woman and to not be blindly-lead by our patriarchal society.

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