Giving in to societal demands leads to unhappiness
By: DALILA KAHVEDZIC
Editor-In-Chief
To be a girl in today’s society is tough. Not enough effort or too much effort are both misjudged and misinterpreted when actually, we just need to be ourselves. God forbid we spend our days in sweatpants and eat cake.
Societal demands should not define us, but sadly they do. Everywhere we look, whether it is a billboard or social media, there is something about a girl’s image.
Do not wear makeup — you are beautiful as is. But, be emotionally stable when somebody points out the acne which lines your face.
Be emotionally stable when somebody points out the bags under your eyes or the slight wrinkle on your forehead.
Be okay when your flaws are openly noticed.
On the other hand, decide to wear makeup, make yourself look ‘beautiful’ or ‘stunning’; with eyeliner wings drawn out perfectly. Your face is glowing.
But at the same time, that much makeup is gross; it is false advertising. The way your eyeshadow creases on your eyelid is disgusting and your neck is a different shade than your face, go fix it. That much makeup is why guys have trust issues — why the joke “take her to the pool on the first date” exists.
Do not wear a tank top in high school; the boys cannot control themselves and may get distracted. Do not let bra straps show because God forbid the boys know that girls wear bras. God forbid that the piece of lingerie we wear to cover up their favorite parts on a woman shows under our tanktop.
But, it is okay for boys to wear whatever they please, especially the shirt with cut off sleeves to show off their arms. Accept the difference in treatment.
Wear the pencil skirt with red high heels because it brings a feeling of confidence, but be okay when the other girls give judgmental glares. Wear it, but accept the fact that guys whistle and howl as you walk by.
Stay home to cook and clean; that is what girls are supposed to do after all. What guy will ever want to marry you if you cannot?
Let us also discuss breastfeeding in public. It is okay for a woman to pull off her bra at a strip bar or to get beads for Mardi Gras, but as soon as her breasts show when she is doing something completely natural, it is not okay. Why should a woman go out of her way to make you feel comfortable or please you? She is being a mother, which is job enough. Sorry about it.
Wait 118 years for the gender pay gap to be closed, and accept the fact that men make more money and you now earn roughly the same amount they did in 2006.
Accept misogyny and all the stereotypes. Accept the disgusting, sexist comments.
Or, do not accept it. Wear makeup because it makes you feel good, then take it off and be a bum the next day. Be a bum for a week — a month.
Do not ever put makeup on again. Wear a tank top with the bra straps showing because, lo and behold, girls have breasts that need comfort and support.
Why is it okay for nipples to shown during a wet t-shirt contest but it is not okay for them to show on any other occassion? Why is everyone so offended by the ‘free the nipple’ movement? It is natural, it is the science; the human female body and it is beautiful.
I am not advocating for us girls and women to let loose and wave them all over the place, there is still a great amount of respect that comes with the right time and place to do things, but quit being so afraid. Stop giving into all these wants and needs brought to you by others.
Raise your head high when you walk — wear what you want with confidence. Get up, dress up (or do not) and show up.
The pressure put on girls to constantly be or look a certain way is exhausting. It is something that no man on the planet Earth will ever understand.
These demands are the reason countless girls have low self-esteem and spend way too much time deciding how to do their makeup and what to wear.
Tell us we are beautiful when we are not wearing makeup; tell us we make a cute bum. Guys, tell us that we do not need to pretend to be a doll for you. Have dinner ready, have the dishes done.
Our egos do not rely on it, but the amount of time we want to spend with you does. To be a girl is a difficult task but to be with an understanding individual makes it less so.
