The Victimization of Teenage Girls

According to the Oxford Dictionary, a gender role is defined as the role or behavior learned by a person as appropriate to their gender, determined by the prevailing cultural norms. In modern day America, gender roles have been slowly dissolving, but nonetheless is still very much relevant. In our society, women have the capability of doing everything a man can do, but, in the eyes of some, women are still seen as the inferior gender. In general, women are still associated with the responsibilities of taking care of the household and the children. They are also perceived as being fragile and submissive. On the other hand, men are associated with being the primary breadwinner and were viewed as being strong and brave. In most civilizations, these associations have been and

In the selected readings, “Your Life as a Girl,” “Beyond Bean Counting,” and “Bringing Feminism a la Casa,” the various authors depict the complexities that are a part of inclusive feminism that incorporates issues across racial, economic, and sexual boundaries. The first reading, through second-person narration, begins the investigation into feelings of inferiority and distinction from male peers that girls feel from a young age. The following readings utilize perspective from marginalized groups to define a broader definition of feminism. The use of anecdotes from the respective authors reveals the aspects of feminism that require more than generalization and textbook definitions to go beyond cultural differences.

Traditionally, men are viewed as strong, dominant and logical, while women are regarded as the weak sex, thus being dependent on the males to make decisions and to protect them as well as their children. These roles go far back in time when males in fact had to protect their families from other tribes, wild animals etc. Even today the same values are applied both in real life and in media. In general a woman is depicted as wife, mother or a sex object. (Sex, Gender, Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation”, Year unknown).

In a society, gender roles are the roles that are restricted to males or females on the basis of their sexism. Conventionally, in numerous societies including the western society, it is supposed that females are more encouraged at any platform than the males. It is believed that for the development of a society, females should be treated in an encouraged way because encouragement of the females help in the betterment of society. Earlier, it was considered that females should remain at home and they should maintain the household things rather than working outside because outside work is only for the males, but it was a traditional way of treating women, which has been changed now.

Firstly, a gender is an important role controlling the way to go to the destination of the American dream. If the person has a different gender, the way is changed. For a male, it is much easier than a female to achieve his goals. The belief of the society and the majority of people believe that a man is stronger and smarter than a woman that represent why he has to be a head of the house, and the society as well. In the same way, Ana, the girl from the movie call Real Women Have Curves, is one example of the female who did not get a permission from her mother to go to college, because her mother believe that the woman has to stay home, have children, and should have a man take care (Pereira, and Brigitte). This belief is passed down from generation to generation. "The male children 's subordination to the father 's dominance is temporary; it lasts until they themselves become heads of households. The subordination of female children and of wives is lifelong. Daughter can escape it only if they place themselves as

Now-a-days, you can’t find appropriate clothing for your children because all stores are selling short-shorts and crop tops for 12-year-olds. This issue is contradicting; girls are being sexualized by being told not to wear clothes that show their skin, yet the only clothes that are currently being sold are clothes that only sexualize girls even more by showing too much skin that doesn’t fit their age group. Orenstein also argues that, “ For today’s girls, sexy appearance has been firmly conflated with strong womanhood.” Meaning, instead of having a princess birthday party at the park, preschoolers are now having mani-pedi spa birthday parties; or how the Elementary school cheer dance routine is more provocative; or when 9-year-olds are taught “all the ticks of beauty.” In our defence, when society depicts young women as sexual objects, they make young girls think that their beauty is more important than their brains(hence the reason why you can easily mistake a 13-year-old for a

Throughout history, gender roles have been the foundation that determines the course of a civilization. These gender roles have undergone a change over time. It is important for every society to re-evaluate its preconceived ideas of gender and determine if that is still the norm for their society. When people think of gender roles we typically have set stereotypes in our head of what that means. Much of the time, what we believe, is not what is actually true. It is often argued what is right and what is wrong.

Despite being looked at in a certain way, Women are being portrayed as “going exactly where their mothers and grandmothers have already ‘been’: into sexual bondage at the hands of a male ‘Friend’” (Christle 1). This is showing how even though women are changing the way society works, some people still want it to be the same. In the story Connie’s mom wanted Connie to be like her and her sister, just the average, not overly pretty looking lady. Some people think that “women have been silenced,” (Spelman and Lugones 574) but Connie had other ideas, she wanted to be different from them. She was constantly looking at herself in the mirror and thinking about what others were thinking about her. When she went out, she would always wear nice clothes that would get her noticed. Looking through a feminist lens one can conclude that Connie’s family sees women now as they always were.

Gender roles, also known as gender stereotypes, are things to be considered appropriate to certain men or women and we are constantly surrounded by them without even realizing it. Cultural gender roles in America have changed over time, from when Disney animated films were first released. Women were only housewives at those times, they were responsible for cooking, cleaning, taking care of their kids, and other housework while the husband took care of

In today’s generation no matter what gender a person is, they have expectations of society to act like either a “women” or “man”. Back in the day when our parents were growing up it wasn’t the same social standers. Girls didn’t have to deal with such high expectations. Adults usually can’t relate to our situation. In the two essays, Mary Piper’s, “Saplings in the Storm” and Sandra Cisneros “Barbie-Q”, gave a better perspective of girls going through adolescents. During this stage in their life they have to deal with social norms, which pressures girls to compare themselves to others and strive to be an unrealistic model of femininity. This emotional battle to blend in leads to metal distress while not allowing adolescent girl be themselves

When thinking of gender roles in society, stereotypes generally come to mind. Throughout history these stereotypes have only proven to be true. Major historical events have had a huge impact on the way men and women are seen and treated. In this way, women have always been secondary to males and seen as the fragile counterparts whose job is to take care of the household and most importantly, be loyal to her husband no matter the circumstance. Gender roles throughout history have greatly influenced society. The slow progress of woman’s rights throughout humanities led to an explosion of woman’s rights throughout the 20th century and that trend will only continue on into the rest of the 21st century.

An eventful story by the name of “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, written by Joyce Carol Oats, was published in 1970. The story portrays a young fifteen year old girl, who may come across as egocentric and a bit careless. Her thoughtless mistake of always dressing too provocatively one day leads her into some trouble with older men. When the story ends, it makes me assume that she eventually gets violated and raped by these older men whom she lead on. The story definitely made me question myself on the actions I would take if I was in Connie’s situation. Oates’s voice definitely demonstrates how teenagers are so ignorant today because of looks, insecurities, and peer pressure.

Gender and the ways gender is portrayed in society varies from culture to culture. Gender roles have changed drastically, especially during the 20th century and continue to evolve to this day. For years now there have been preconceived notions about genders and the roles each one should play in society, home, workplace, etc. Most times gender roles are associated with stereotypes and previous gender roles. Gender role plays different parts in religion, culture, society, time periods, countries, etc. Women rights and power varies in time and location and it is very interesting to look at the events, cultures, and customs that were taking place in that particular time period to get a better idea of the gender role concept.

By looking at all these statistics it makes you think about how vulnerable young girls are and it is important for us as youth workers to keep them engaged in our programmes, make them aware of all the support out there and support and guide them throughout different stages of their lives. Also the impact on this upon a young women, they might feel insecure about themselves and this is why they are doing this to fit in with their peer groups and also to live up to everyone experiences. It also may help some young women find out who they are and what they want out of life.

“People dominate animals, men dominate women.” Each is a relation of hierarchy, an inequality, with particularities and variations within and between them. (Cite Orange book pg. 92.) For centuries, women have been viewed and used as a man’s “property”, whether it is being used for sexual satisfaction or for the sake of bearing children and taking care of the home. Men are typically perceived as head of the household and whatever they say goes; anything to satisfy their hunger for power and control. Have women ever had a say about what they want to use their bodies for? Laws against rape may have changed over time, but men’s consistent aggressive behavior unfortunately, has not.