Personal Narrative: My Objectification Of Women

Objectifying is an adjective often put on the table in conversations about the depiction of women. The Objectification of women did not start with photography, but it certainly did not end with photography either. The progression of objectification was only blossoming in the 19th-20th century. At that time, most acknowledged photographers were men.

Does accepting one’s femininity mean having to put on a dress and wear makeup? Does expressing one’s femininity mean having to get married, have babies and looking after the children and their husbands at home? The women today can be so much more without losing their feminism. There was a time when men are to hunt and gather food while women stayed at home and cooked and give birth and look after the children. Nowadays, women are as educated as the men and are able to hold any position that had been reserved for men. Women today are politicians, leaders of countries, professionals and even combat soldiers. Thus, they have proven that they are equal to any tasks. The only reason why they are lacking is probably because of social stereotyping. This is the reason why it is particularly important to empower femininity.

In pre-ap english, I interviewed Jacquelyn who is a freshman at Macarthur High School in Lawton, Oklahoma. In our society, we are often subjected to gender roles. Gender roles is the act of assigning certain emotions or behaviors to men or woman. In response to finding out what gender roles actually are, Jacquelyn does not agree with the idea of them and states that people should “be able to do what they want.” Gender roles often prevent us from being the person we want to be. For example, if a guy were to wear makeup there are people who would judge him harshly and possibly even outcast him, simply because they believe women are the only ones who can wear makeup. Same thing goes for women, like if a girl wanted to play football many would

Imagine living your life and not having control over it; imagine having someone tell you what you could wear, what you are supposed to look like, what you’re supposed to do, and when you’re supposed to do them. Having no control is one of the clear issues in The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne; Hawthorne writes about female roles/norms in the 19th-century perspective, and I would argue that he adheres to these norms, but also challenges them. Challenging gender norms while adhering to them is a little challenging, but this is exactly what is happening in modern-day society. Many people are challenging gender norms and are pushing for equal rights, but many people (my primary focus on women) are changing their looks, and going under the knife to look a certain way that men will find “attractive,” just like Georgiana did for Aylmer. Gender norms for women are being

We all commonly assume that we act freely, that we make our own decisions without regard to the opinions of those around us. We all like to think we create our own stories, and choose the way we tell them. However, many of us are probably at least tempted to wonder if this a thing completely within our control, how much of it is, and how we can resist attempts of others to write our stories for us, regardless of what we actually desire. Particularly when it comes to women, the society around us is very sure of what it wants our stories to be, and who should tell them and when. This is, of course, a process that begins early. As Foss,

Throughout history, women have been regarded as of lesser value than men particularly in the public sphere. This is the result of gender stratification. Gender stratification refers to the issue of sexism, “or the belief that one sex is superior to the other” (Carl et al., 2012, p. 78). The theory that men are superior to women is essential to sexism. Sexism has always had negative consequences for women. It has caused some women to avoid pursuing successful careers typically described as “masculine”—perhaps to avoid the social impression that they are less desirable as spouses or mothers, or even less “feminine.”

Our gender has an effect on every aspect of our lives, varying from how we view ourselves and other people to how we interact in social and civic life. It also impacts the way we set our goals in opportunity areas such as education, work, and recreation. Gender socialization starts at birth then manifests through family, education, peer groups, and mass media. Gender norms are automatically placed on us, where women should learn how to be nurturing, sensitive, emotional, passive, and always hold a man’s position higher than hers. On the other hand men should be overly confident, aggressive, dominant, and view women beneath them. This paper uses various readings to show how these gender norms are supported and challenged in today’s society.

The social construction of stereotypes regarding male to female roles is a reflection of our societies worldview and has been passed down through history. Given the evolution of feminism, it has become a dominant issue within society’s social structure. Our value hierarchy places greater importance on masculinity as opposed to feminity. Despite the many years of fighting for equal rights for both gender related issues, it appears women are still living below men.

When my mother stayed at home nurturing and caring for my siblings and I without working to secure a job. I assumed that was females destiny in life to stay at home, but I did not like that idea I had to stay at home and be a servant to a man. Yet, the society told me I had to stick with that notion in another to have a happy life. Fortunately, things fell apart, as I grew older, I began to realize that it was tough for females to accomplish or success in the same career as men. Additionally, when I was in high school, the girls thrived in class, I never knew that the male teacher disliked the idea that girls were succeed than the boys. The men were filled with rage that they decided to confront the boys in the class and told the boys it was a disgrace against manhood. Once the teacher left, the boys were angry and said lots of awful hated speech towards the girls. They stated that girls, should not be in class and they should stay at home clean the house and raise their children. Nonetheless, I decided to fight back with that hateful speech and sooner or later the girls joined in. Finally, we won the argument. Regardless of the victory in class, I realized that the mainstream media portray women in a despiteful manner, low wages income, and nurturing the home. Although, things are changing gradually, ladies should still strive to make sure the equality last in the

For many years women have battled for their place in society to have the same equal rights as men. Although women have made it very far in their quest for equal rights, there are still issues today that remain unresolved. The “perfect” female standard set by society is an ongoing issue that women face everyday. Women are brainwashed by society to have to constantly live up to their standards for what they see as the “ideal” woman, and if women deviate or act differently from these standards, then there will be consequences that follow. Women have to live up to these perfect ideals that society expects from them, such as: perfect breasts, no menstruation, and unsuitable child bearing body types. For the women who go against society’s standards,

Porter, Katz, and Plait have very similar arguments. The problems lie within society’s cultural system. In order for there to be change adult men need to speak up and set examples. Instead of remaining quiet, men need to provide “powerful models of anti-sexist manhood to young men” (Katz). These expectations that society puts on men need to be diminished. It needs to be “made clear that sexist attitudes and behaviors are unwelcomed”

My mother never told me the complications of becoming a woman in this world. Maybe she thought I was strong enough to figure them out on my own. Or quite possibly, she couldn't tell me, because she never really knew how to face the complications herself.

Throughout history and today, we women are constant victims of stereotyping from our society. Certain “rules” have to be followed and certain “ideal” women images have to be kept. We are raised in a way to fill certain position where the society wants us to be and as a result, the opportunities are always limited for us and ideas of our importance in the society are diminishing. Even though women gained some independence, where women can work and take various position in society, the society’s idea of typical role of women never seem to change.

In American society, there is an obvious gender hierarchy in which men are viewed as strong, powerful, and valuable while women are viewed as weak and timid. Women face this challenge every day, and more prominently when they are trying to go against the hierarchy. Regardless of how many social norms or “power ceilings” that women break, they constantly face messages that perpetuate stereotypes, which reinforces this gender hierarchy. At the same time, men are also facing similar, gender-related pressures. Because men are on the top of the social hierarchy, there is an expectation that they be strong, brave, and confident. This causes an undue burden on the men that are unable to fulfill these gendered expectations.

Growing up everyone is told that they are unique. “Be yourself,” “use your God-given talent,” and other expressions such as these impress the aforementioned narrative into our minds. Thus, when I was around thirteen years old, I thought my sexuality was just a part of me that only I had. I wanted to share this feature about myself; I wanted to take pride in it and show it off. Coming out to a close few friends showed positive and emotional responses. Riding on this high, I was ready to embrace myself in high school. Yet, my naivety took the best of me as I was going to an all male, religious high school. My sexuality has provided me with experiences that have and will continue to shape my life. These struggles, whether they are internal or external, have provided me with invaluable skills.