Gender

1. Growing up, girls are taught to be gentle and ladylike; we are taught to wear all pink everything, twirl around in frilly dresses, and put bows in our hair. If you like to do this, it is alright (I personally love pink and dresses and bows). Nothing about wearing these types of things is wrong, until you look down on another girl for wearing something different. Girls can love pink but they can also love blue or black or red or green or any other color. No one, male or female, should be put into a box of what they can or cannot do. Growing up the media constantly drowns us in social norms and expectations. Women should be submissive and men should be domineering- even in gay relationships someone is supposed to be the "woman" and the "man", when really this just enforces the idea that one member of a relationship needs to be submissive.

Here's me on Halloween in pink, sparkles, and makeup. This ballerina costume is one of my all time favorites (I called myself the HalloQUEEN)

2. Growing up with two little sisters, I was not really influenced by the idea that men are better than women. I did not see gender stereotypes (or at least realize them) until after I had started kindergarten. My parents put me in dresses because that is what I liked. I climbed trees and ran around outside, I read books and played with the dress up. I was never told I could not do something because I was a girl. Even growing up, my family did not discriminate me for my age. One of my favorite things to do was (and still is) to sit with the adults and listen to what they had to say. I talked business and politics with my aunts and uncles and my opinion was always listened to.

Here's me busting stereotypes by climbing in a dress

3. Going to an all-girls school has allowed me to grow in my belief in women. It has broadened my ideas about what women can do and be. The Mount has allowed me to see beyond gender stereotypes and accept women with all different styles and ideas of what it means to be a woman. To me, identifying oneself as a woman means being strong and independent while looking fierce and fabulous, no matter what your style is.

4. Despite my firm belief in strong women, I admit that I anticipate a man who can take care of me. I do not want him to take care of me all the time, but when I truly need someone else, I want my future husband to be that person. I love gentlemanlike qualities such as holding open a door or pulling out a chair (mostly because I'm a romantic who has read too many books) but I do not want a man to pay for me on every date. I would like a man to help me reach things I am too short to reach but I also want to be able to use a nail and hammer by myself. I love hosting dinner parties (a trait passed on by my mom) but I have no cooking abilities (I can bake though!), I would like my future husband to be a great cook (like Harry Styles) so that I do not have to worry about eating pasta and cereal every night. My expectations for a romantic relationship come from the books I read growing up.

Here's me at my first "official" dinner party last December. I am wearing boots because a hostess needs to be able to move around easily. I called my event "Winter Woodrowland" :)

Miss Representation

I may get annoyed at times but nothing makes me as furious as male privilege and the unfair treatment of women. I hate the double standards that exist and the stigma that comes with declaring oneself a "feminist". After watching Miss Representation, my feelings toward the over sexualization of women have not changed. Women constantly see photos and advertisements that tell them they have to be skinnier and prettier. Women are told that they are objects and simply exist for men's pleasure. Girls have to constantly worry about being branded a prude or a slut, depending on what they wear and what they do.

When I grow up, I know I definitely want to do something in business. Typically, there are not very many women in the business world. I attended an information session for the business school at a college I was visiting over the summer and of the dozen or so students present, there was not one other girl. Maybe it was just an off day, but it seemed too big of a difference to not be significant. Rather than feeling discouraged, I was only motivated even more to pursue a career in business. The boys had lots of questions for the speaker (who was a woman :) ), but I'm not sure if they were asking to show off or if they honestly did not know the answer because the answers to every question that was asked were available on the school's website with little effort needed. As a woman in the business world, I plan to be a excellent resource to my colleagues and do my research before I attend a meeting. I will not let my gender hold me back. Instead, I will use my gender to my advantage and be thirty times as good as anyone I am competing against.

I would not say attending the Mount has made me a feminist because I feel I have been one since before I can remember (even if I did not know what it was called). I would say that the Mount has helped me to grow in my passion for equal rights for women and has allowed an environment in which I can communicate with others who share my ideals.

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This is kinda related but not really: the other day I was scrolling through tumblr and I came across a post that that had the well-known phrase "A key that opens many locks is a master key but a lock that is opened by many keys is a bad lock" the person who posted this commented with a different phrase that I really liked: "a sharpener that sharpens many pencils is a good sharpener but a pencil that is sharpened by many sharpeners is a bad pencil." Another person commented that neither analogies should be accepted, if someone chooses to be promiscuous it is his or her business and his or her decision should not matter, let alone matter more if the person is male or female.

Mission Statement

As a woman, I plan to strive to ensure I get the same opportunities as men. I will live my life with class, grace, and compassion. I will take care of others but also care for myself through healthy eating and exercise. I realize that my potential is limitless and I will work to surpass all goals I set for myself. I will invest myself completely in every endeavor I pursue. I will not only be independent and strong but also kind and gentle. I will read as much as I can and share what I learn with others. I will aim to live my life to its fullest, most fabulous capacity.

My life will be even more fabulous than One Direction at their Fabulous magazine photo shoot: