Women are continuously targeted to be victims of unjust and prejudiced treatment. Discrimination and inequality in women have relentlessly remained to extant and exist in modern-day society. The negative impacts that it brings upon women and young girls are frightful and unacceptable. Hence, it is incredibly vital and necessary that we educate and inform our current and future generations to be a progressive society and finally put an end to all women's distress.
Discrimination can happen to any woman regardless of her age, race, religion, beliefs and status. Since the beginning of time, society has never once failed to plant their views, ideas and expectations of women everywhere. History suggests that misogyny stemmed from patriarchal societies and arose from social and cultural norms, in workplaces or even at home. (Ananthaswamy & Douglas, 2018)
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For centuries, women are repeatedly subjected to unrelenting stereotypes of traditional gender roles - from what is appropriate about their appearance, how they look and dress, to their personalities and their roles in the household. (Parenthood, n.d) It is evident in various platforms not limited to advertising, magazines and social media. In the past, in advertising, women were commonly portrayed as stereotypical roles. Studies showed that only 3% of advertising portrayed women as leaders. (Media Literacy Counsel, 2018)
Now, even though women are less likely to be playing as a housewife on media, they are still reduced to be objectified and sexualized. With that, women who have what society describes and pushes as 'the ideal body' are showcased and publicly displayed everywhere. It seems like women can never escape objectification or be stereotyped.
For instance, on social media, women are 'perfected' through excessive image altering such as photoshop and editing. The models have smooth, porcelain, acne-free skin and an hourglass-shaped body. (Suggett, 2019) Moreover, society further reinforces their views by promoting ridiculous cosmetic and beauty products such as skin bleaching, tightening creams and corsets that puts their waists in torture. Social media proceeds to glorify something that is unattainable and impossible to achieve in real life. In the end, both women and men are manipulated in this destructive concept. It negatively feeds into men's fantasies of women and women's unsatisfaction with their own appearance. (Sandoiu, 2018)
In addition, women are stereotyped to be feminine and docile, submissive to commands. Traditionally, they are expected to give up their career ambitions and denied education to be the caregiver of the family, whereas men are usually the breadwinner and the ones who have the last say in decision making. Culturally, in China, male babies are favoured widely over female babies. Generally in the Chinese society, it was the males that will take care of his parents when they get old and carry on the family name, while the females were sent off to be married and take care of her in-laws instead. (Pallavi, 2015)
With that said, society's bizarre stereotypes, traditional views and unrealistic standards of beauty have left a long-lasting, negative impact on women and young girls. It sends a dangerous message and delivers the wrong expression. Women are consistently comparing themselves to these false and modified images, flustered over flaws that do not exist. It lowers their self-esteem and raises their insecurities, leaving them prone to wanting extreme surgical procedures in the future. Some women develop unhealthy eating habits and disorders like restrictive diets and purging. With the power of anonymity and easy access online, youths are prone to peer pressure and cyber-bullying. In more severe cases, it leads to mental illnesses like bulimia, anorexia and body dysmorphic disorders, that would take many years to defeat. (Lagos, 2013) If fatal, it might even lead to depression and risk of suicide.
Women have also encountered several obstacles in the workplace. They are not taken seriously in political roles. According to a recent analysis, There is a lingering stereotype that women do not make good leaders and are seen as weak because they make essential decisions emotionally instead of logically. (U.S News, 2019) People cared more about how they looked, rather than what they had to say and offer for the country. Not only do women suffer under the gender wage gap and are given unfair opportunities, they are also likely to be exposed to sexual harassment and assault, both verbally and physically.
Women are paid significantly less, especially in professional sports. For example, the United States women's soccer team has brought home national achievements, winning four Olympic gold medals and three World Cups. Yet they are only paid about one-third of what the men's soccer team earn, while the men have won nothing. Also, the National Basketball Association (NBA) earns about six million dollars on average. However, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) earns only about seventy-one thousand dollars. A'ja Wilson, a number one draft pick in WNBA, earned even lesser than that. (Zimbalist, 2019) Women in professional sports have to work twice as hard and long to earn the same amount of pay and respect as their male peers. With the gender wage gap, in the long run, women are more likely to be dependant on welfare funds when they reach retirement or old age, despite putting in more effort. (Wikipedia, 2019)
Sexual harassment includes catcalling, flashing, sexist jokes and comments, verbal threats, groping and raping. Reports show that 77% of women have experienced verbal sexual harassment, and 51% of women had been sexually touched without consent. (Chatterjee, 2018)
The damaging effects that it brings upon women are killing their spirits and ambition, resulting in them having to switch or quit jobs and not given a fair chance to perform their fullest potential. They will also question their self-worth in society due to the harassment and bullying they receive, and their reputation being damaged. Studies have shown that it leaves notable negative effects on physical and mental health. Sexual harassment can traumatize women and possibly lead to depression. (Holtzman, & Hegewisch 2019)
Unfortunately, women in third-world countries have it the worst. For instance, in Saudi Arabia, a highly conservative country, lacks fundamental rights for women like interacting with the opposite gender, wearing or trying on clothes they like in the dressing room and competing freely in sports. (Power, 2019)
Thus, resulting in bringing women emotional distress. All in all, laws can be implemented to overcome sexism and misogyny, but nothing much will change unless society decides to progress, take action and move on. We must start by acknowledging the problems and not ignoring it. We also need to start encouraging and educating our current and future generations to not let history repeat itself. Furthermore, not forgetting to empower women and young girls everywhere, reminding them of their self-worth and rebuilding the confidence they lost. For that to happen, we can introduce feminism, a movement that fights for equal rights amongst all genders. Feminism, real, true feminism has gained tremendous achievements that women could only dream of centuries ago.
For example, the #MeToo movement has shed light on sexual harassment in the workplace. It urged and encouraged women who were victims of sexual harassment to come together on a platform to voice their troubles where they were once silenced by fear. In 2 months, a United States crisis hotline, Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, had an increase of 23% in calls after the movement went viral. (Seales, 2018) The power and influence that this movement alone is measurable in court. It raised millions of dollars to help and solve cases legally for women who fall victim to sexual harassment in the entertainment industry. Moreover, they are finding new ways to counter harassment while providing a safe environment for everyone to work in. (Campbell, 2018) The #MeToo movement is concrete evidence that spreading awareness and educating can make changes.
To conclude, everyone deserves a fair and equal chance to achieve, excel and to live freely without prejudiced judgement and speculations based solely on our genders. If someone's mother, sister or loved one is discriminated against, they would most definitely want someone to stand up for them. Equality is unachievable if we do nothing, it is something everyone has to contribute to to establish a better society for our future generations. The world is changing, so why aren't we?
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