Samantha DeSantis

ERWC P.3

Ms. Frederick

Women Speaking Up

I am a white, educated, heterosexual woman, living in Southern California. I have a

pretty good life. I dont have to face any racial issues that so many others have to live with

everyday. I see them on the news, sometimes at school, read about them in articles such as

Prelude: The Barbershop, written by Vershawn Ashanti Young, but being that I am white,

raised by a white family, I dont have these problems for myself. I also see plenty of gender

issues. Going to a school where being accepted to be whoever you want to be, whether gay,

straight, or bisexual, is a blessing. Santa Susana High School has been, as well as taught me, to

be open and welcoming of all people, but issues of gender still exist plenty. I have friends who

struggle to tell their parents and friends how they feel, and there are many who struggle with

gender identity within themselves as well. I am not gay, nor do I have to worry about being

discriminated for my race. I have been given a wonderful education that will help me go far in

life, so I do not have to worry about being looked down upon for having a poor education or poor

background. What I can say though, is that I am a woman, and women dont have it perfect

either.

Ever since I was a little girl, I have heard those phrases about women such as, Dont

throw like a girl, You run like a girl, or Dont fight like a girl. Even if they werent always

directed at me, I would still hear them being used. My answer to these questions would be,

Because I am a girl. These made me feel uneasy because whats wrong with that? Why has
doing something like a girl become a negative idea in our society that we live in today?

Women are constantly inequitably held to different standards than men throughout everyday life.

I have been called out for acting bitchy, and heard my friends call plenty of other girls bitches

for acting a certain way, but when brought to my attention, I realized that if a man were to act

this way, then he would only be seen as powerful, and people would more likely than not respect

him for it. Women must walk a fine line between being a powerful figure or else being afraid of

being seen as rude.

Women are put at a lower social status than men. In the world that we live in today, it is

very common for a women to still be treated unfairly because of this status and the idea that a

man could do the job better. The most common example would be the gender wage gap and the

fact that women are often getting paid less than a man for doing something, probably just as

good. Women and men both are expected to act a certain way. The man is supposed to be

tough, strong, and take care of the woman. The woman is supposed to be dainty and helpless

without a man. Up until recently, women werent even allowed to do many things such as

having a job or voting. Even though times have changed, and the world has moved forward to

change these stereotypes and views of women, they are still there. I found it certainly interesting

in the article, His Politeness is Her Powerlessness, by Deborah Tannen, how she brings up the

example of the people of the village in Madagascar, and how their culture is the opposite of ours,

in the way that the men are the indirect ones and the women are the direct ones, yet even there

the womens style is still negatively evaluated. Her point being that, whether a man or a woman

has direct or indirect style, the womans way is constantly seen negatively, because society

dictates that they are at a lower status than men.

 I recently read another article entitled The Transformation of Silence into Language and

Action, by Audre Lorde. Throughout this article, she addresses the many social issues that she

sees in todays society, and why she has come to believe that we all need to speak up for

ourselves and what we believe is right and fair. Lorde states, For we have been socialized to

respect fear more than our own needs for language and definition, and while we wait in silence

for that final luxury of fearlessness, the weight of that silence will choke us. I found this really

hard hitting, because I agree with what she is saying. Why should I sit around and hope for

someone to speak up for me? Who am i waiting for? A man? No. If we, women, want anything

to change for us, we need to speak up. We should not grow old regretting our silences and the

changes that could have been. What is there to be afraid of? In the words of Audre Lorde, And

I began to recognize a source of power within myself that comes from the knowledge that while

it is most desirable to not be afraid, learning to put fear into a perspective gave me great

strength.

If we all speak up, united and together, then we can make a change. It doesnt matter our

gender, race, or social status, anyone can be a part of this societal movement. We stand united

when we can look past our physical differences, and share something in common. We can share

the drive to make the world a happier place for everyone to live in and a place where running

like a girl is a good thing.