It's 2016, and some people still believe in gender roles and several completely sexist things that apparently determine a woman's "value." Again, it's 2016, and American society is still led by patriarchal societal rules and norms. Now, I'm not trying to present myself as an overly-excited radical feminist who hates men and everything they stand for, but I am trying to present myself as someone who believes in gender equality—actual feminism—and challenge the things that women are expected to do in order to be "valuable." There are quite a few things that society dictates that women should spend their entire lives working on and perfecting just to be considered a "good" woman. I'll explain these things and why I think they're completely wrong, and then I'll tell you how to actually be a "good" woman.
Before I do that, though, let's make sure we all understand what feminism actually is:
Now that we've cleared that up, here are the things that society believes will form a "perfect woman":
1. A man's opinion of her
Why?! Do I even have to say anything about this? I mean, really. Come on, people. A woman's opinion of a man doesn't make him a "good" or a "bad" man, so why should the opposite be true?
2. Physical appearance
Like I said, it's 2016, and most of us have accepted that women don't need to have long hair, big breasts and a small waist to be "desirable" or feminine, but some people just haven't caught on. A woman's appearance will never dictate how "valuable" she is, and just because she wears makeup or dresses nicely, it doesn't mean she's trying to impress a man!
3. Occupation
There are still jobs that are biased for and against women. Some people still expect women to only have certain jobs because they're apparently completely incapable of doing other jobs. Really?
4. Motherhood
So many people believe that a woman absolutely has to have children in order to be a "productive" member of society. Just because most women are capable of giving birth, it doesn't mean we have to! #Sorrynotsorry for not wanting kids!
5. Sexuality
There are so many things I could talk about regarding women's sexuality. A woman can't have too many partners, explore her sexuality, or even really enjoy her sexuality without being called a "slut." Not only that, but a woman who isn't into men is automatically seen as the most disgusting person on the planet (but lesbian pornography is just "so sexy!"). She just "hasn't found the right guy yet," right? I could go on, but I think you get it.
Alright, now that I've covered the societal expectations of women, let's move on to what women should actually do be "perfect."
1. Love herself
2. Be herself
3. Express herself
4. Respect herself
5. Live for herself
Now let's get out there and show the world what amazing women really look like!
