The popularity of the “Cinderella Dream” has dramatically dwindled since the 1950s. Waiting for Prince Charming to come dashing into a woman’s life, marrying, having his kids, and finding satisfaction with staying home and tending to the needs of one’s family had been a dream across all walks of life for women. But now instead of telling young girls to search for glass slippers, society now stresses that those girls ignore antiquated practices that create male dominated professional hierarchies and use those glass slippers to shatter glass ceilings. Because of this, more and more women have started aiming to have it all. The definition of “having it all” means the perfect balance of motherhood, marriage, and a successful career. This thought
…show more content…
No, it is more than that. Life for a woman who wants to have it all has become a triage situation where every aspect of a woman’s daily routine has to be assessed and prioritized based on its level of importance. Liberation for women has progressively been noted to involve working outside of the home. This liberation gives the impression, as it has to be the only one that matters. When a woman cannot balance the needs of work and the want to raise a family, she typically blames herself and not the system. In her essay, “Why Women Still Can’t Have it All,” Anne-Marie Slaughter discusses the reactions she received when leaving her high-profile government job, which varied from disenchanting to patronizing remarks like, “It’s such a pity that you had to leave Washington” or “I wouldn’t generalize from your experience. I’ve never had to compromise and my kids turned out great” (678). Women have never been freer to be autonomous. However, women perpetually feel the need to justify their want to stay home and raise children or wait to have families after building a career, or not to have families at all, because bullying or shaming a woman because she has chosen a life we would not choose for ourselves is a far too common
No, it is more than that. Life for a woman who wants to have it all has become a triage situation where every aspect of a woman’s daily routine has to be assessed and prioritized based on its level of importance. Liberation for women has progressively been noted to involve working outside of the home. This liberation gives the impression, as it has to be the only one that matters. When a woman cannot balance the needs of work and the want to raise a family, she typically blames herself and not the system. In her essay, “Why Women Still Can’t Have it All,” Anne-Marie Slaughter discusses the reactions she received when leaving her high-profile government job, which varied from disenchanting to patronizing remarks like, “It’s such a pity that you had to leave Washington” or “I wouldn’t generalize from your experience. I’ve never had to compromise and my kids turned out great” (678). Women have never been freer to be autonomous. However, women perpetually feel the need to justify their want to stay home and raise children or wait to have families after building a career, or not to have families at all, because bullying or shaming a woman because she has chosen a life we would not choose for ourselves is a far too common