Blog #4

I believe a lot of what we seem to perceive about men, and women seem to stem from a long series of stereotypes that seem to strait-jacket us to fit the norms society has placed on everyone. Boys having been raised with the mind set that they must be powerful, independent, and often feared figures (by women more often than none) ; reveals to us a long held belief that men are the so called, "bread-winners." That they dominated the professional sphere long before women shook things up, and for that reason there still exists the practice of offering raises to men over women who are equally as deserving, because of the stereotypes that have become like a crutch to so many, too hard to shake off. I feel also that women are overly sexualized in main stream society, whom regards women as nothing more than mere objects deprived of brains. It's getting to the point where girls buy into the belief that the only way to succeed is by looking great, and buying into all the trends and products that are said to make you 'cool'. Girls are fighting an uphill battle with self-esteem issues, rather than tackling social issues like gender inequalities. After viewing distorted images of what boys and girls ought to be, and what that leads to are things that could have been avoided if the media set out real examples that boys and girls could live up to: gay bashing, rape, date rape, gangs, assault, low self-esteems, depression (the list goes on and on). Where can one draw the line between what we consider to be okay, and what actually sets the standards for all of us to obeyed by?