There is no doubt that in our modern day society there are standards placed on everyone. How you are supposed to look, dress or even act while you are out in public or even in the privacy of your home. It can almost be dizzying with how many you have to keep track of. It is infuriating that you cannot even breath without someone making a comment on the way you inhaled. You can try and try to make everyone in the world happy but even if you do, you could be sacrificing your own happiness. And making yourself happy? Well, that is just a bad situation.
The one thing people do not tend to focus on is the double standards that occur in our world; and how bizarre it is that the idea of one gender cannot be subjected to something but the other can with no problem. When people focus on the life choices someone should make, or even their appearance, they seem to focus more on women. Lately this year the media has exploded with people pointing out what standards are wrong and which ones are okay. But there is something that has bothered myself, as well as others, is why the idea of putting a standard on women is wrong, but on men it is no big deal.
One standard that has bothered myself and many across the country is one that is still under the microscope and that is the issue of breastfeeding. Women are yelled at, talked about on the internet and called indecent for allowing their child to feed from their body in a natural way but television shows, commercials, advertisements and more show women in barely there bikinis and revealing clothing on a daily basis and for some reason that is more okay than feeding a child in our society. A woman can be head of a successful company and if she shows any kind of assertiveness she is seen as bossy or rude or aggressive in a bad way. But if a man does it he is seen as someone who knows how he wants something done and he is a good boss. It makes very little sense.
Yes, women face these objectifications everyday, there is no doubt about that. And yes, it is wrong and there should be something done to change it. But I cannot help and think of the things men go through that are overlooked.
Maybe I do not focus on the correct thing or maybe I even overthink things but it is bothersome that this is such a common thing in society. I know I am a woman so I should find things that we go through appalling, and yes I do. But what the opposite gender is subjected to should be seen as an issue as well. For example, during the summer olympics there were many articles and YouTube videos out about the ‘sexiest women’ and many people were in an uproar. But, Cosmopolitan came out with an article ranking men’s bulges and no one really said anything. It was just another article by a popular magazine. There are beauty standards that are in place and many people think it is just women who must deal with them especially when the HydroxyCut commercials show a woman walking down a runway with a bikini and heels. But those same issues are faced by men as well and they just get glossed over when we talk about this issue.
Growing up I was taught to treat people equally and that you should treat others with respect and that you should not treat anyone like they are below you. It is a common lesson taught when you are growing up and for some reason that lesson deteriorates over time. Now we are in a world where we judge one another on everything and get angry when we try and stand up against it. And unfortunately, it seems it will be a long time before we as a society come to our senses and end it all together.
Like the story, so true.