Nov 24 2008
More thoughts on being a woman
I read in my 9th grade history book that, during the Middle Ages, women were either represented as being like Eve: deceptive and wicked (whatever your opinions are on Eve, that’s all fine and well, but I’m referencing their opinion), or you could be like the Virgin Mary: pure and righteous. Our opinions of how women should be hasn’t changed much.
Now, granted it’s not the Catholic Church dictating what we are represented as through Biblical imagery, but the ideas have remained in some fashion. Women today can either be smart, or pretty, but never both, and the pretty ones always seem to come out on top.
While there’s nothing wrong with being pretty, what bothers me is the nature that always seems to accompany it. It always seems that silliness and ignorance follow, and that any knowledge of anything other than the latest sex positions, or newest lipstick shade is nonsense. How can you be that well polished and groomed, that gorgeous, and have a brain? It just isn’t so. Being pretty means being superficial, and you can’t be smart and superficial.
And with being smart, it’s like you can’t care about having some kind of personal style. Even moreso, it’s expected that you don’t. I tend to make fun of it, and say “I’m smarter than I look,” a lot because, while I may carry a big enough purse to have the latest book I’m reading with me at all times, I also carry a makeup bag stuffed to the brim so I can keep my eyeliner impeccable at any point in the day. But really, how often do you see someone like that? The girl who’s smart is generally socially awkward, a loner, and wears plaid, argyle, and glasses with a rim that do nothing to suit her features. There’s no way she can bend her mind to thinking about brushing her hair or putting on at least lipgloss and mascara. It’s unheard of! Who has the time for that?
I’ve always strived to be both: I don’t just read books, but I like to read books that make me feel. I also like learning, and love being in school (I’m not pursuing a billion and one degrees for nothing lol). But, I never leave the house without making myself up, wearing what I think are cute clothes, and sometimes even going as far as straightening my hair. I’ve done beauty pageants, I’ve played sports, I sit there and go crazy with the girls, and I can wrestle with the boys.
I’ve lost count of how many raised eyebrow expressions I’ve gotten for it. It doesn’t really bother me if people ‘disapprove’ of me. What bothers me is that people are still so narrow minded to try and pigeonhole women like that. In this day and age, where American society (Western society in general even) likes to brag that it’s passed these archaic ideas, we do a good job of sticking to the status quo. Anytime there’s something that threatens it, everyone tries to shoot that down. Maybe sometimes the threat is legit, but not always. Sometimes, the threat is in fact an aid, and shooting it down only means shooting yourself in the foot.
