“I thought you were a lesbian for a while,” these are the words that were recently told to me by a close male friend that I was in a military program with. When I asked why he would think such a thing, he informed …show more content…
More and more women were seeing doctors for psychological help for an unnamed problem. While there was no name for the problem, all knew what it was; it was the feeling of want. What exactly was this want though? Most middle class women had the life they had been told to dream of; the white picket fence, the well maintained house, kids to brag about, husbands who worked a nine to five job, and friends to gossip with. What more could a women want, they had the American dream the one their parents told them about. They had married a hardworking man and had kids both of which they loved deeply. The woman got to stay home and care for her children while her husband provided for her family, she was just responsible for maintaining the house and making sure supper was ready when her husband came home. Still there was a wanting that none of the women could explain. Having been married at a young age she had to forget about her ambitions, her dreams and wants. A woman that lived the American dream per say was considered the epitome of femininity. Women of this time were taught by society that anything more than being a housewife was unfeminine, this notion led to the unnamed problem. “They are chains made up of mistaken ideas and misinterpreted facts, of incomplete truths and unreal choices. They are not easily seen and not easily shaken off.” (Friedman TRACS 31) This insert from the “Feminine Mystique” identified the main …show more content…
Femininity should not describe a female and whether she is girly enough to be considered a “real” woman. The word feminine should be used to describe a female that empowers all traits, not just traits viewed to be submissive or inferior ones. I believe that a female is just as capable as a male, while she has a different anatomy that should not stop her. Nor should the gender roles that are considered the norm be imposed on any female, fore there should not be a limit as to watch she may accomplish. Furthermore to identify either male or female with certain characteristics in order for them to be “real” men or women is preposterous as we should not be chaining females and males with the preconceptions that were imposed on us. The word feminist in itself implies that females and males are not equal, and that as females we are oppressed. I believe the first step in disposing of gender norms is for females to know they are equal to males. If females do not start believing they are equal to males, then gender norms will continue to exist and specific words will continue to be identified with one gender or the