gender roles
A look at the evolution of gender roles, from Leave It to Beaver, paternity leave, female breadwinners and more.
Girls Who Rival Girls
So, what's the deal with girls trying to rival other girls? I don't mean that question to be entirely rhetorical, I'm genuinely curious. I've never understood the whole "I don't like you, so I'm going to be passive aggressive towards you and give you backhanded remarks, but still act like I'm nice so when you call me out I can act confused and say 'I've been nothing but nice to you!'" logic.
Jamie StokesPublished 6 years ago in VivaSexist or Awareness?
Recently, acclaimed author Lauren Groff refused to answer the work/life balance question in an interview with the Harvard Gazette. Alexandra King, with CNN, responded with an op-ed on why she believes Groff, and all women “in positions of influence,” should have answered the question. My rebuttal is that King missed the mark entirely on the original question asked of Groff and Groff's response, ultimately reinforcing a sexist position the question takes.
Robyn RussoPublished 6 years ago in VivaDear Men, Please Stop!
Dear Men, this is a way for me to politely make you aware and ask you to stop what your doing for a minute; put yourself in mine and the million other girls' shoes and think about how you would feel as a young teenage girl that is getting harassed by much older, ignorant, disrespectful men. See, you wouldn't like it, and yet men still carry on, unknowingly torturing us inside when we ask for you to simply stop, but most of you refuse and carry on until you get something out of it.
Turtle LoverPublished 6 years ago in Viva"Men Prefer Debt-Free Virgins Without Tattoos"
Under the name The Transformed Wife Lori Alexander wishes to teach women how to be good Christian wives. According to her blog, after 23 years of unhappy marriage to her husband, she finally found how to be a good wife through God's transformation. Her goal is to share her wisdom with the younger generations of women. Her website states that "[Her] ministry is based upon Titus 2:3-5 in which God commands that older women teach younger women to be sober, love and obey their husbands, love their children, be chaste, discreet, good, and keepers at home."
Ziggy MothPublished 6 years ago in VivaThings I Want to Tell My Daughter
In all of my high school experience, I don't remember a single day passing in which I didn't feel challenged over being heard or acknowledged. I don't remember a single week going by where I felt treated the same as the boys in my class. The way that girls are referred to as a "bitch" but men never are. The way that I held back on my opinions because I knew that my voice would be treated differently than that of the boy sitting next to me. That no matter what I said or how well I backed up and proved my point, it wouldn't matter to the boy classmate who always thought he was right.
Abby SlyterPublished 6 years ago in VivaBeing Female: My Experiences with Sexism
The first time I experienced sexism was when I was in the seventh grade. I overheard a conversation between my male teacher and one of the male students in my class. I don’t remember his name, so I’ll just call him Thomas. He wasn’t doing well in the class and my teacher had enough of it. The teacher then made it known to Thomas that a girl had the highest grade in the class. That girl, no surprise, was me. The look on the Thomas’ face as those words left the teacher’s mouth is engraved in my mind. His mouth fell open ever so slightly, just enough to know that he surprised, but still closed enough to know that it didn’t really matter to him that a girl had a better grade than him.
Caroline DelkPublished 6 years ago in VivaThe Breadwinner: Modern Day Social Constructs
Over the past century, a woman’s role in American society has changed dramatically. Most people don’t even bat an eye anymore if a woman wants to go to school, have a career, and maybe, just maybe, not even have children. If she’s got a husband, though… well, that could change things.
Rayelle PaulsonPublished 6 years ago in VivaA Woman's Worth
It used to be that a woman's worth lied in her virginity, her purity; what men believed her to be. Growing up, that was all I ever heard. Don't date, don't be easy, a good man won't want to marry you if you aren't a virgin. Accepting your sexuality, as a woman, was the equivalent of blasphemy or committing some unspeakable crime. Yet when young boys went out and slept with 10, 20, 30 girls, they were considered conquistadors, gods; accomplished. It was damaging and confusing to grow up unable to ask questions and feeling like sex wasn't meant to satisfy me and even coming up with extensive lies so that the day I got married, my parents wouldn't be shamed because I wasn't a virgin. This twisted sense of our self-worth being measured by what men thought of us stopped me from coming forward the first time I was sexually assaulted, and the second time, and the third, and so forth. I always rationalized that letting anyone know would break my parents' hearts and that people would know I was worthless, unworthy of love or affection, damaged, unable to be repaired.
Lois LopezPublished 6 years ago in VivaHow I Survived My Past
At the ripe age of 20, I among many others have experienced what life is like after being raped. I was around the age of 4 or 5 (I was young, and it's hard to remember exact ages). I was introduced to a sexual life that I shouldn't have had to live or understand until I was much older. This ultimately altered my life and my perception of myself.
Roxanne SmithPublished 6 years ago in VivaBeyond the Scales
The princess curled herself up in a ball, doing her best to ignore the chains which shackled her wrists as she tried to get comfortable on her bed. She was acutely aware that her fever was getting dangerously high, and she wondered how long it would be before the prince would come and rescue her, because she wasn’t sure how much longer she could withstand the heat in the dungeon.
Jade FitzgeraldPublished 6 years ago in Viva'Girls Mature Faster'—Is This a Fact or Simply an Excuse to Treat Girls More Harshly?
Not so long ago, I was aimlessly scrolling through the news and I came across an article describing a controversial video that had gone viral. It consisted of Vladimir Putin’s top pilot team dancing around, extremely underdressed, and performing household tasks to the early 2000s hit "Satisfaction." It struck me as quite a sexual video, almost like a male version of the music video for the Benny Benassi song. As I scrolled down the article I saw the words: “Nothing is disgraceful here, just young lads with a good sense of humour.”
Vicky BabczykPublished 6 years ago in VivaMasculine Femininity
Since the beginning of time, men have been institutionalised to believe that they cannot express any emotion or signs of weakness due to fear of appearing "feminine."
Kiara WilliamsonPublished 6 years ago in Viva