Paw Print Editor: Brianna Robles
As women we often find ourselves being placed in the positions to turn our back on one another as society often creates false narratives that turn us away from each other rather than us being in the position to learn, grow, and be supportive of one another. Being a woman in our modern society is labeled women to be the lead role in helping create families but to be a woman is more than just that.
During the month of March we are given one month to celebrate being a woman, when ideally women should be celebrated everyday. Even though they face adversity they are resilient enough to overcome obstacles and work towards success. Often at times there is a comparative narrative that creates a division among women because we allow society to put us against each other rather than being supportive of one another. As women we already take on the tasks of cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, but being a woman in today’s society we want to do more and achieve more and the only way to be able to change the perspective of modern society is by being supportive of one another.
There are many jokes made by women used more as a coping mechanism as we realize we are seen as less than or incapable of accomplishing certain things. We often make references when there is a slight inconvenience and may say, “How could they do this to us? It's women’s month.” But the true reality is women often aren’t seen as equals and there is still systematic inequality that exists among us. Instead of wanting this validation from society, we should be able to come together as women and be supportive of each other.
Being a woman comes with its challenges that go beyond the systemic inequality. Women need to be able to challenge themselves to overcome the subconscious process of not supporting one another. These behaviors are often drawn from the fact that the relationship created among women, which comes from the term created by Pat Heim called the “dead-even rule”. What this term means is women need an equal power status among each other, which needs to be balanced between power and self-esteem. When women feel threatened by other women for example if one woman has a higher status than the other this causes a behavior change that most women do subconsciously that causes them not to support other women.
However, as we begin to reflect it being Women’s History Month and celebrate a timeline of women from Abigail Adams to Rosa Parks and the 1908 march in New York City where thousands of women gathered to march for better laws and the right to vote, women should use this time to reflect on the past and remember that we are stronger if we support one another rather than tearing each other down.
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