"That's Not Very Ladylike..."

        Gender roles are obviously stupid and harmful. They teach women to be submissive and men to be dominant; pressure boys to be emotionally vacant & tough and girls to be insecure & pushovers. They restrict us all-however a particular aspect which has interested and affected me is that concerning how to be 'ladylike'.
        Acting 'ladylike' is a social construct in which women are told to behave in a certain way. This includes various codes of conduct such as:

• Cross your legs and sit up straight
• Always look fine and feminine in appearance
• Never swear or laugh/talk too loudly or share strong opinions
• Do not repeat crude comedy or discuss taboo topics

        If you are a woman who does not conform to this ideology, then you are shamed and teased by side comments such as "That's not very ladylike..."- as if your reproductive system somehow dictates how you are meant to act in public. This behavioural concept is so absurd and is only designed to teach young girls to remember to shut up and stay out of the way. It paints them as simply ornaments who are seen and not heard and degrades them to make them feel as if they must fit in an 'ideal' mould.

        The links below discuss the topic and you can discover more opinions by exploring the recent online conversation "#PizzaRollsNotGenderRoles". However this can be dealt with efficiently as shown in Buzzfeed's '12 Signs Being Ladylike Is Not Your Forté' video which states that simply because you do not act like a 'lady', does not mean that you are any less of a woman. Call people out when they spew these kinds of microaggressions and societal attitudes to help them realise that what they are saying is ridiculous and that we need to redefine our views on gender.

Fozz.

Recommended Links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu3osSlliLM&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg0s3CDkbvQ

Femsplain

        This week an article of mine was published onto Femsplain entitled "Can Our Passion For Equality Really Exist Outside The Playground?" The response I've had so far has been incredible so here's the link:

https://femsplain.com/can-our-passion-for-equality-really-exist-outside-the-playground/

Fozz.

"I'm pretty tired of adults telling me how stupid teens are"

        In an interview, the author John Green replied with, "I'm pretty tired of adults telling me how stupid teens are" when asked whether or not the characters he writes about are "too intelligent". It can be frustrating for teenagers when they are told that they have the incapability to be intelligent and understand the 'grown up world'. Obviously, due to our young age, we most likely do not have as much wisdom and experience as those older than us however our lack of exposure to the world can-to a certain extent-help us to form original thoughts and opinions without negative outside influences. A while ago I was intrigued by this letter which someone sent to their regular newspaper about their recent articles:

        I thought that this letter was brutally honest yet completely correct. Teenagers are bombarded with the stereotype that they are lazy and moody and are not quite as human as the rest of the world. Numerous investigations are made into the adolescent mind and various methods are suggested to parents on 'how to deal with it'; but there hardly ever seems to be research into the minds of parents and how teenagers should deal with their attitudes and behaviour. Yes, teenagers are going through drastic changes with both their body and mind however we are all developing as we grow at all ages.
        We are also taught not to be interested in politics as it's 'too complicated' but we are then labelled as lazy for not being knowledgeable about the political world- even though it is mainly the youth who have been involved with recent protests around the world and spreading awareness through social media. We are the ones who are striving for social justice and who are demanding revolution yet the ones who raised us are trying to degrade and devalue us.
        Teenagers and young adults are at the age where they start to create an identity and realise many flaws in the world around them and adults should be encouraging perspectives from younger people and also showing them the potential greatness of the world around them instead of belittling their thoughts and knocking them down. As cliché as it is, we are the leaders of the tomorrow and so I believe that we should be treated with more respect and not dismissed simply because we haven't been as scarred by life as much as the grown-ups have been.
Fozz.

Why is it shameful to be a 'housewife'?

        Recently there has been a huge boost in encouraging female empowerment. As feminism has taken a third wave and trended all across social media, female empowerment has been a popular topic over the last couple of years. We have seen women conquer  their respected fields from Beyoncé reigning as Queen of pop culture to Shonda Rhimes dominating prime time TV production. Women are being celebrated for their achievements and are being praised as brilliant role models for the new generation of young women.

        One reason why they are being admired is because they are drifting from gender stereotypes and gender roles in order to reach their own goals. However, by encouraging these strong career women, we have been led to a form a distaste towards the "housewife" and to shame mothers and women who stay at home. The imagery of the housewife involves a fragile perfectly made-up lady in a 50's style dress, necking down a bottle of wine and making sure that dinner is ready on the table by the time the husband comes home. But this stereotype is false as well as outdated and doesn't include the women now who pursue lives at home as well as new found hobbies and interests.     

        Yes, we should show our support for career ambitious women but we shouldn't then act as if 'housewives' are failures who do not have their own accomplishments or goals in life. Women may have various reasons to justify why they stay at home but they shouldn't feel the need to justify it to us. Someone once said that "Feminism isn't about what you choose, but the freedom to choose". We should have the opportunities to pursue whatever we wish to, as long as no harm is caused, so who are we to label people who give up their work as 'shameful'? 

Fozz.