Stereotypes In Amy Cunningham's 'Why Women Smile'

Stereotypes are had to overcome. Women struggle in a man’s world, constantly trying to get respect and to be treated as an equal. Different cultures are being discriminated against because of how they look, talk, and are perceived as being stupid. Do they give up or fight? Could they ever be satisfied with who they are or will they let others define who they should be?

Pretty Woman is a rags to riches romantic-comedy directed by Gary Marshall in 1990. It is a dark warning tale about class and sex work in Los Angeles. The story centers on “down-on-her-luck” Hollywood prostitute Vivian Ward who is portrayed by Julia Roberts, who is hired by Edward Lewis, portrayed by Richard Gere, a wealthy businessman who wants Vivian to be his escort for various social upper class events and businesses and their emerging relationship during her stay with him. The characters in the film goes as follows: Edward Lewis, a rich corporate businessman and womanizer from New York.

To admit or to label oneself as a feminist is to accept a whirlwind of judgment from those around you. It is without a doubt that the word “Feminism” or “Feminist” turns heads, and not necessarily for the right reasons. Many have resorted to mocking, disagreeing, and/or hating Feminism without even having a good grasp of what it is. The stigmas that feminists face are that they are radical, extremist, liberal, lesbians who hate men, refuse to shave and enjoy burning bras (Lee).Conversely, feminists are principally advocates for social justice and equality as well as aim for the establishment of equally divided power between the sexes. It is obvious that many are unaware of and uneducated on the misogynistic injustices plaguing our world and the toxic environment we all live in- both women and men. Feminism is a positive concept that works to eliminate injustices between both sexes and to establish the value of women, thus should be treated as such a concept instead of being a forbidden idea.

Roxane Gay, author of the article entitled “Bad Feminist”, is a very accomplished American feminist writer. Her publication of “Bad Feminist” in 2012 gained national public attention (1). Feminism, as defined in the dictionary, is “the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes” (2), but Gay explains throughout her article that being a feminist is not just as simple as agreeing with this need for gender equality. The feminist label is too narrow and because of this the feminist movement is breaking apart. In this piece, Gay addresses how our society currently defines feminism and explains why this definition does not encompass everybody that it should.

Today, the feminist movement has grown and is still growing as women around the globe have joined hands in the fight against inequality. Even though a lot has changed, all feminists, despite

There is something subtle about attitudes toward women, something that many people act in accordance to but are only subconsciously aware of. It is the constant judgment that women face, and it is also something Deborah Tannen noticed while sitting in an ordinary meeting one day. During that meeting, she found herself noticing only the females of the room, not the men. Tannen then realized that it was because “The men’s styles were unmarked” (Tannen 389). While there are standard hairstyles and clothing for men, there are none for women. Everything that a woman wears is a reflection of who she is. In her piece titled There Is No Unmarked Woman, she writes about her experience and concludes that women cannot escape judgment no matter what they do.

Feminism has been an explored topic since the early 19th century and has remained an important conversation in our society still today. At the time when Roxanne Gay was approaching this topic within her collection of essays, there were some major feminist triumphs occurring. 2014 was a time where Rape on college campuses was finally announced a national issue. In 2003, there were just 74 women in congress, yet 2014 was the year where we finally hit 100 women in congress. With all of the support and the successes of feminism at this time, it was crucial that Roxanne Gay discuss the way in which she fully supports the feminist movement, while staying true to herself. In "Why I am a Bad Feminist," Roxane Gay colloquially portrays how she imperfectly performs feminism in her daily life and how to deal with the constant struggle of trying to achieve "ideal" feminism while also being human. Gay touches on the fact that as a society, we place a high degree of pressure on women to be perfect. Whether the perfection lies in their looks, actions, or personality traits, women are constantly held to unrealistic standards. Gay effortlessly sheds light on this situation using rhetorical strategies to describe how she does not meet these standards. These rhetorical strategies include imagery, to create a picture of what she is saying, as well as a strong use of ethos and pathos, revealed throughout her essay. Instead of being ashamed she shares how to embrace her inconsistencies while still trying to be a feminist and role model.

Women are often confined to a set of ideals and expectations because of one simple fact: they are women. Many of the women who contributed to this book have faced gender stereotyping and discrimination. Instead of allowing traditional social norms to confine them to an unwanted lifestyle, they challenged these conventional ideals, risking failure and facing condemnation from strangers as well as people close to them. People often associate feminism with negativity and pessimism. In “Feminism is a Dirty Word,” Cindy Simon Rosenthal talks about how people refuse to define themselves as a “feminist.” However, the movement does not advocate for women’s special privileges. Feminism celebrates social equality and supports the utilization of all talents.

I had never really thought about what it meant to be a feminist, it was just a role I had unquestionably assumed as I consider myself to be an advocate of women empowerment. After last week’s readings, I began to question what exactly does being a feminist entails, and why the label carries very different meanings and connotations to different people. There is a common misconception that feminists are radicals, seeking to be superior to men. This is rooted in the fact that women today do not face the same struggles as its predecessors; namely, the inability to vote, work, study, and own property, to name a few. It is true that I have more rights and privileges than women such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Sojourner Truth,

Many of us women face battles all throughout our lives, but the question we should ask ourselves would be; how could we let our battles we’ve overpowered affect us in our present and our future lives. In the movie “Almost a woman” directed by Betty Kaplan, a young Spanish girl has to overcome her past and move onto a better future for herself with facing the challenges of her being Hispanic. But the issue goes even further than just a Hispanic girl that has to grow up with stereotypes being thrown at her. The truth of the matter is women of all different races have to face stereotypes on an everyday basis. Women everyday face this battle of always having to prove that their rights should be equal to men.

In his article, “Why Men Have a Problem with the Word ‘Feminism’”, author Martin Daubney explains how he doesn’t clearly like the word feminism. Though he believes in what the word stands for, equality and freedom of choice, irrespective of gender, sexuality or race, he is repulsed by the word feminists. This is because of how the word is perceived; the word feminism now tends to symbolize an aura of negativity. The reasons behind the negativity are the acts of the radical feminists. “All men are rapists”, that statement was supposedly said once but as is can’t be taken back it is all that the men tends to remember. What was supposed to be a positive message for the benefit of mankind became a word that gives people a personal bad attitude.

The concept of sisterhood has been an integral part of the feminist movement since its beginning. Sisterhood recognizes the common oppression that women face in a patriarchal society, and suggests that strength can be found in unification. Keith E. Melder in Beginnings of Sisterhood discussed the impact of sisterhood on women's movement: “sisterhood strengthened women's collective identity.... From their active, collective enterprises, women gained a sense of power” (48). The strength of sisterhood generated dramatic changes for women's rights.

While the piece is somewhat outdated, it continues to bring about important points and issues about women, such as a double standard among the sexes. It is important that this piece is still shared to show how much progress has been made and still needs to be made. While at one point in history it was common to see people ignoring or overlooking women’s rights, today’s society has the ability to platform its arguments in ways never before used. Social media, for example, has become a large part in spreading the need for feminism, allowing powerful celebrities and ordinary, everyday people to express the need for change in the world. Quindlen shares with readers how society needs not to fear words, but rather fear the consequences that can result from not taking social action. Quindlen’s piece succeeds in diminishing the daunting or intimidating fear that is the

many as successful female artists as there are male in the rap genre. There is serious talent being exhibited with these young female rappers and I feel the public just refuse to give their time to even bother with these artists. For a young girl wanting to be a famous artist, it can be dream crushing to realize this is more of an impossible decision. A few female famous artists today can explain how this became a stereotype and made this an impossible career pathway.

Throughout the last century, women have had to fight to have the same opportunities as men. Women have had to earn the right to vote, the right to have a career, and the right to autonomy. However, these are all rights that men have simply been given, which is why today’s feminists work to promote equality. Despite these efforts, feminism is often misunderstood and is interpreted with a negative connotation. According to a study conducted by Precopio and Ramsey (2017), “feminism is commonly recognized as a movement driven to grant social, political, and economic equality to both women and men.” The participation of others besides women is crucial to the spread of equality among the genders. Furthermore, the stigma and negative feelings surrounding feminism must be reduced in order for the ideals of feminism to have a greater impact.