Being a woman is no easy job; stereotypes make it more difficult

Being a woman in today’s society is no easy task, especially when we have men watching and… Being a woman in today’s society is no easy task, especially when we have men watching and judging our every move. Amid our male coworkers, peers and even our friends are those who take notice of how we walk, how we dress, how we speak and how we act. As female comrades, we have learned to deal with those pig-headed perverts who view us as nothing more than sex objects. But it catches me off guard when I read a column, written by a self-proclaimed “respectable” male, that tells us we bring the degrading status on ourselves.

Before I go against the stance that this columnist took, I must first state that I do agree with some of his points. “It’s the mind that keeps [men] coming back for more” is certainly a reasonable claim, something that my fellow female intellectuals and I can appreciate.

But I couldn’t appreciate his assumption that women who wear “trashy” clothing are selling themselves for free booze, momentary attention or mindless sex.

Now, I am quite aware of the “parade of women” that present themselves solely as “empty-minded” sex objects. But this stereotypical view of women in revealing clothing is an empty argument. To take a few bad apples in miniskirts and halter tops and hold the rest of us liberally dressed women to their standards is upsetting. Quite frankly, a good portion of the female population does not wear revealing clothing to “sell themselves.”

The female body is a beautiful thing. For centuries, famous artists have marveled at our figures with beautiful paintings; writers have described the very detail of every curve and contour of our body in their literature. Why is it, then, that when a woman feels confident in her own skin and wants to celebrate her body, she is deemed a hooker or a slut? I form this opinion from firsthand experience. Some women may have nice, round buttocks, others tight, firm legs.

While I despise my bodacious ample booty and my beefy legs, I have come to appreciate the volume of my chest. My friend may wear a short skirt to show off her trim legs. Another may wear tight jeans to accentuate her shapely behind. I wear relatively low-cut shirts to emphasize the two good assets I was blessed with.

When I, or many of the women I know, wear clothing that brings out such attractive body parts, it is with the intention of feeling sexy and celebrating our vivacious attitudes while we still can. Feeling sexy and desirable is a wonderful thing, even when we aren’t wearing a miniskirt and leather boots. But when I am going out on a Friday night with my pack of beautiful, intelligent women, what’s wrong with wanting to look bold and daring? Why do I, and all of the women I know, have to be deemed sluts because we like to look and feel good? What’s wrong with appreciating the beauty in oneself and in others?

And how, exactly, did the female population become the sellouts while men remain proud, shameless figures in this whole calculation? Last Wednesday’s column states, “There are guys out there who are only interested in sex too … but they don’t pretend to be anything they are not in order to [have sex]; they don’t objectify themselves or try to be any less intelligent.”

Are you kidding me? Come on, women, surely you don’t buy into this propaganda. The male gender is just as guilty as its better half for “selling themselves.” While the writer and many like-minded males claim that only women “expose flesh” and pretend to be “empty-minded” for sex, I must wholeheartedly disagree.

Ladies nowadays are exposed to a whole male population that goes tanning, gets its eyebrows waxed, wears fitted T-shirts that accentuate certain body parts and spends more time getting its hair ready than females do. Also, I have seen the nicest of guys turn into spineless womanizers or careless jocks at parties because they think that a change in personality will up his chances in getting laid. What happened to not pretending to be anything they’re not, huh?

I’m sick of dealing with the stereotypes. I object to being labeled a whore by a columnist, or any other person for that matter, who thinks he knows what goes through our minds when we get dressed. And I’m sick of the double standards that are placed upon us. Don’t throw out those tube tops and high heels just yet, women. Be the sexy, intelligent women of the future, and get your party on!