From birth, girls and boys enter society expected to behave in a certain way.
Girls wear dresses with frills and bows to exert their femininity. They play with Easy Bake ovens, toy vacuum cleaners, and baby dolls. They grow up watching movies about princesses yearning for love and anticipating for their “prince charming” to come and sweep them off their feet. Girls are destined to grow up to believe that they need to show off their femininity by batting their eyelashes, and adding a touch of lip-gloss. They are conditioned to think that they are meant to cook, take care of the home, raise the children, and ultimately, find a husband who will provide for them.
Boys have more freedom. They play with toy trucks and tools, wearing their jeans and t-shirts. The movies they watch portray the man as the hero and saving the day. Boys grow up thinking they need to be the leader and be assertive. They cannot cry because that would be a sign of weakness. Boys have to reach their goals or be marked as a failure. They are destined to believe that they need to be successful and the provider of the family.
This is the message society communicates to girls and boys. But it’s time for a change. We need to disintegrate the lines for what is strictly considered a man’s world and a woman’s world. There is no difference. We are all human, and we should all be equal.
Analisa Miyashiro is a senior and majoring in communication studies. This is her first time being published in The Bolt.
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