Equality for Women

                In modern society, people are treated unfairly and cruelly because of their race, gender, religion, and abilities. Through reading, media, and simply the world around us, if you pay attention you will recognize small little things that are unfair. Studies show that women are paid less than men for doing the same jobs. Television shows that girls and boys have completely different likes and dislikes. Books show that people are treated badly because of things that they can’t help. After dissecting books and articles, it is clear that women and girls are often portrayed as lesser than men and are believed to have different focuses and goals.

                The book “The Daring Book for Girls” by Andrea J. Buchanan and Miriam Peskowitz is a guide to activities that girls can do with family and friends. This book gives suggestions such as activities to do in a slumber party, how to make your own doll, hair dos, and cooties. This book doesn’t talk about how girls can go hiking in the woods, do science experiments, play with Legos, and other activities that have come to be known as “boy things”. Women and girls have suddenly been portrayed as skinny and sensitive, or as many call them, “girly girls”. All in all, “The Daring Book for Girls” depicts girls as the “classic” girl with completely different interests of boys. 

                An article in Upfront Magazine discusses a current debate over single sex classrooms. The article talks about how girls have the inability to focus on subjects such as math and science with boys in the room. The article mentions how girls need special treatment and a calmer environment while learning these subjects. This claim is very upsetting because personally, math and science are my two favorite and best classes, both with boys in them. I sit between two boys in both science and math and I am able to focus and do well all the time. The article talks about how math and science are considered hard for girls but easy and fun for boys. The fact that people think that girls are unable to focus with boys in a room with them is false. Girls and boys have equal abilities and interests and should not be separated because of gender.

                Through media and books, it is clear that males are shown to be superior over women.  This is beginning to change but it seems as though we have a long way to go. Companies such as Dove and Toys R Us have proved that they want to help make this change by airing commercials that stand for the fact that all are beautiful and that boys and girls can have similar interests. Companies such as these two will help lead the way to equality for all. Women deserve to be given equal opportunities and shouldn’t be divided because of their gender.

Social Justice: Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke

            You may think that the biggest song of the summer is all about just having a fun time, but although it is catchy, the lyrics are completely twisted. The article “No Blurred Lines in Robin Thicke's Summer Hit” by Timothy Villareal, discusses Robin Thicke’s song “Blurred Lines”. Many people have fought over this song and what they think it is trying to say. Many believe that it degrades women and is way too dirty to be played on public radio. I believe that it is disgusting and immature for an adult to perform and take credit for a song that is so degrading to women and makes it seem like it is okay for a man to treat her in such a disrespectful way.

            The song Blurred Lines includes incredibly atrocious lyrics that talk about sex and women in the completely wrong way. “I know you want it, You're a good girl, Can't let it get past me, You're far from plastic, Talk about getting blasted, I hate these blurred lines.” I find that these lyrics are terrible in the fact that they are discussing a woman’s body and sex. Robin Thicke wrote this song and I find it terrible that a person, especially one with their own wife and children, would use fame to exploit women in this sort of way. Robin Thicke says that he had never been able to degrade women and he thought that it could be fun to do so in a song.

 This song makes women seem like objects that are being described for the way that their bodies look. It is terrible that this is being accepted in our culture and that it is seen as cool to listen to songs with themes such as these.

            While this song may be giving off a terrible message, many find it a fun, catchy tune. With an upbeat rhythm and a cool sound to it, Gary Trust from billboard.com says, “The song has earned the spot as number one on the Billboard 100 and over one million downloads between June and September.” The fact that it is so popular for songs to have lyrics like these ones is terrifying and makes you wonder what could come in the future for pop and rap music. Once you listen to the lyrics and think about what they actually mean, you will be almost scared to listen to it because of the horrifying ideas that come seeping through the speakers on your iPod. Even the director of the video, Diane Martel, believes that the song may have crossed a few lines although at the time, seemed like a great idea. If you look deeply at some of the most popular songs currently, the majority are so degrading to women and their bodies. This idea has become so common in our current music and it is terrible that we have accepted and have left the idea of songs that talk about having fun with your friends and being in love.

            The article “article “No Blurred Lines in Robin Thicke's Summer Hit” by Timothy Villareal” talks about how many current songs have lyrics that degrade women by talking about their bodies in sexual ways. It has become accepted in our world for songs to be so frightening, but this is what it considered “cool and catchy”. I find it so sad that we have strayed from normal songs but this has become the new normal. Imagining having your own daughter listen to the radio and all that she hears is a song about a woman who is “sexy”.   Many radio stations have started to block out certain words in songs but many times, after all curses and ugly vocabulary are eliminated, there is nothing left to listen to. I hope that music can begin to change because it is starting to grow into a huge ball of inappropriate, disgusting words that are now considered cool.