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" :)