I was intrigued by all the statistics surrounding the women's movement, specifically the changing percentages of women out in the workforce and women seeking higher education. Admittedly, the testimony and information surrounding women's general lack of satisfaction in regards to their meticulous lives around the house was not very surprising. Not that I don't believe this can be fulfilling to a woman. Personally, one of my important goals for the future is to be a good mother and wife, however, it is rarely surprising to hear that any group of people is dissatisfied when they are subject to a position by societal pressure rather than choice. On a separate issue, I was pleasantly surprised with how easy the text read as I assumed it would be fairly inaccessible and lofty. The diction and information was concise and informative though which I find to be one of the easiest means of conveying pertinent information. The biggest thing this text did for me though, was make me wonder about the role and influences women had on me as a child while I was growing up.
What came to mind first, and arguably one of the more obvious influences, was Barbie dolls. As a child, my mom refused to buy me a Barbie because she didn't think it was healthy for a young girl's self-image. This train of thought made me look up the statistics of a Barbie (which I'm sure we've all heard before but here they are again just for giggles):
11.5" = 5'9"
36 inch chest
18 inch waist
33 inch hips
Basically, Barbie is rocking practically impossible measurements for a normal human being. Additionally, "slumber party" Barbie from 1965 came with a scale that permanently read 110 pounds....35 pounds underweight for a woman of her height and therefore fitting her in the weight criteria for anorexia. None of this was new information to me and it's sad to say that the statistics don't surprise me.
The other childhood influence that immediately came to mind was Disney. I love the movies as much as the next person but the body figures of any of those princesses give even Barbie a run for money sometimes. However, the influence of these movies goes beyond, body-image insecurities. Each movie depicts the love story of a young girl, which speaks to Friedan's point of societal influence to marry and settle down as a young woman (before it's no longer an option). As it read in the article, in the late 1950's "the average marriage age of women in America dropped to 20...Fourteen million girls were engaged by 17." Now this is a statistic I found shocking. And it was horrifying to realize Disney discretely promotes these similar pressures even in today's society. It is no wonder all those women were becoming depressed as they progressed in their married years....they hadn't had a chance to do anything with their lives! It's upsetting to think that young girls are still indirectly experiencing similar influences without anyone ever really realizing it or do anything to rectify the situation.
Basically, Friedan's piece made me think. It's interesting to consider all the different role models that influence our lives, particularly as young girls, a time in our lives when we are incredibly impressionable. I hesitate to sound like a "rabid" feminist, particularly knowing I have such little knowledge thus far on what exactly that means (or if it has a concrete definition as argued in hooks' article). However, I think it's fair to say I was possibly a little disappointed with these negative influences on young kids, so maybe I have more in line with the "feminine mindset" than I initially anticipated.....
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