not a dirty word

    There is an enormous difference between how women and men in society are treated and looked upon but society today, just like in Hester’s time.  If a woman and a man committed adultery in Hester’s time, the woman’s punishment was not even comparable to that of a man.  A man would just get a minor punishment, while a women would be shunned from society for the rest of her life or even be burned at the stake.  While I was thinking about that double standard for women, homecoming popped into my mind.  I question why guys are usually the ones to ask the girl to homecoming.  Just that fact makes the idea of male dominance more prominent.  If a girl were to ask a guy, they would be thought of as aggressive and a social oddity.  Furthermore, a girl will spend at least two or three hours getting ready, while a guy would spend at most an hour.  This is because the girl feels like she has to look good for the guy, which means she ironically is objectifying herself, but that is because if she doesn’t look perfect, she’ll stand out from everybody else, breaking the social norm.  So I guess it is actually society objectifying her.  Also, the varying styles, colors, and cuts of homecoming dresses each mark a girl, while a guy isn’t marked because most guys wear suits that look somewhat the same.  The way women and men are expected to dress and act should not be based on gender.  For example, most women are thought of as weaker than men just because that is sadly most people’s preconceived notion on women and that is how most women are portrayed as in society.  I mean how many more male superheroes are there compared to female superheroes?  In reality, a women could be much stronger than a man, not just in a physical sense.   Men aren’t often associated with gender inequality, but they also too often feel the weight of gender stereotypes.  Men are supposed to be all strong and “macho”, while many guys are very sensitive.  They shouldn’t have to feel like they have to be strong, again not just physically, just because they are guys.  In Emma Watson’s speech to the UN on the subject of feminism, she talked about how two different genders shouldn’t be looked at as two opposite sets of ideals, but instead on a spectrum.  “If men don’t have to be aggressive in order to be accepted women won’t feel compelled to be submissive”(Watson).  The ideas I have talked about all embody the word feminism which is a very misunderstood word.  The official definition is “The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes.” If more people knew that was the definition, I think that more people would identify as feminists.