Emily Hakimi
Writer '18
March 8th is International Women's Day. Sexism starts to become most evident in teenagers. It is now, not tomorrow, that students need to recognize that their actions as teens will affect their futures, and the futures of generations to come. The truth is, the gender equality movement starts with women. Women are responsible for standing up and making sure their voices are heard, but they are also responsible for bringing men into the movement by showing men that they do not have to live up to a certain stigma.
A lot of girls at Great Neck North were ready to speak up about sexism. Junior Kayla Kamali imparted that, "Part of the reason why men get the idea that it is ok to treat women as inferiors is because of ignorant women who do not respect themselves." Girls always need to keep themselves in mind. It is important to have respect for oneself, and there is nothing respectable about compromising one's identity. It is every girl's job to show the world that her present warrants respect. As Amit Kalantri once said, “I cannot compromise my respect for your love. You can keep your love, I will keep my respect.” Be selfish. Never focus on someone else's needs if that entails letting go of the invisible aspect that makes up individuality. Sophomore Giselle Hakimi spoke about teen relationships when she decided, "It is hard to figure out who we are, but it is infinitely harder when there is another voice that tries to force its opinions into the mix." One of the most important things for girls to do in order to achieve equality is to set themselves up for positive futures by making a point to declare independence. After all, girls become women, and when a girl is used to living in someone else's shadow, there will soon be a woman who does not know how to stray from the stigma she holds in society today; thus the cycle of stereotypes reigning true repeats itself.
Society trains girls and boys to fall pretense to gender roles, which is why there is inequality between men and women. For instance, girls are taught that their lives should be fairy tales. They can sit back and wait for Prince Charming to come to their rescue. Meanwhile, boys are trained to be independent and to be the Prince Charming who controls the relationship. Emma Watson once declared, "If men don't have to be aggressive in order to be accepted, women won't feel compelled to be submissive. If men don't have to control, women won't have to be controlled. Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong." Even if girls are more evident victims of gender inequality, a lot of the injustices that girls face are tied to injustices that boys face. Society pressures men to be masculine just as much as it pressures women to be feminine. If these pressures go away, men will not feel like they have to overpower women.
Nothing should stifle a young girl. She is young and has relatively no responsibilities. It is the time to find out who she is without any outer influences because soon she will have labels forced upon her that try to tell her who to be. Mother, professional, and wife are titles that hold weight and come with restrictions. The title "teenage girl" should not hold weight behind it, but it does. Society teaches girls that being with a man is a requirement. If mankind never corrects its mistakes, it will undeniably keep on making them and influence its children to make them. Imagine a world where kids have never taken witness to sexism. Imagine the day when something that affects absolutely everyone today is only read about in history books. Gender inequality is a cycle. It can end if people work for it, but masking the problem will never eradicate it.
Writer '18
March 8th is International Women's Day. Sexism starts to become most evident in teenagers. It is now, not tomorrow, that students need to recognize that their actions as teens will affect their futures, and the futures of generations to come. The truth is, the gender equality movement starts with women. Women are responsible for standing up and making sure their voices are heard, but they are also responsible for bringing men into the movement by showing men that they do not have to live up to a certain stigma.
A lot of girls at Great Neck North were ready to speak up about sexism. Junior Kayla Kamali imparted that, "Part of the reason why men get the idea that it is ok to treat women as inferiors is because of ignorant women who do not respect themselves." Girls always need to keep themselves in mind. It is important to have respect for oneself, and there is nothing respectable about compromising one's identity. It is every girl's job to show the world that her present warrants respect. As Amit Kalantri once said, “I cannot compromise my respect for your love. You can keep your love, I will keep my respect.” Be selfish. Never focus on someone else's needs if that entails letting go of the invisible aspect that makes up individuality. Sophomore Giselle Hakimi spoke about teen relationships when she decided, "It is hard to figure out who we are, but it is infinitely harder when there is another voice that tries to force its opinions into the mix." One of the most important things for girls to do in order to achieve equality is to set themselves up for positive futures by making a point to declare independence. After all, girls become women, and when a girl is used to living in someone else's shadow, there will soon be a woman who does not know how to stray from the stigma she holds in society today; thus the cycle of stereotypes reigning true repeats itself.
Society trains girls and boys to fall pretense to gender roles, which is why there is inequality between men and women. For instance, girls are taught that their lives should be fairy tales. They can sit back and wait for Prince Charming to come to their rescue. Meanwhile, boys are trained to be independent and to be the Prince Charming who controls the relationship. Emma Watson once declared, "If men don't have to be aggressive in order to be accepted, women won't feel compelled to be submissive. If men don't have to control, women won't have to be controlled. Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong." Even if girls are more evident victims of gender inequality, a lot of the injustices that girls face are tied to injustices that boys face. Society pressures men to be masculine just as much as it pressures women to be feminine. If these pressures go away, men will not feel like they have to overpower women.
Nothing should stifle a young girl. She is young and has relatively no responsibilities. It is the time to find out who she is without any outer influences because soon she will have labels forced upon her that try to tell her who to be. Mother, professional, and wife are titles that hold weight and come with restrictions. The title "teenage girl" should not hold weight behind it, but it does. Society teaches girls that being with a man is a requirement. If mankind never corrects its mistakes, it will undeniably keep on making them and influence its children to make them. Imagine a world where kids have never taken witness to sexism. Imagine the day when something that affects absolutely everyone today is only read about in history books. Gender inequality is a cycle. It can end if people work for it, but masking the problem will never eradicate it.