The Beautiful Little Fools

Picture: Unknown – Vitamin W

Out of everything we’ve accomplished so far these past few years, reaching full equality on behalf of all genders is still lacking. Men and women still share a pay gap, everyone is being limited to different opportunities, and the point is, these problems still exist. Even though women are establishing themselves as leaders, it seems as though that is not enough. And so,

People have adapted the attitude that’s been passed on by previous generations that women are an accessory. By continuously living with this attitude, it grows into our daily lives. The Great Gatsby a is prime example of this. Daisy says,

“I’m glad it’s a girl. And I hope she’ll be a fool – that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”

Daisy has accepted the lifestyle impressed  by society. She’s adapted this mindset that women easily live out their lives because of their beauty, as if that is all their potential lives up to be.

Picture: Red Tape via CrayCrayak

Women continue to become delicate accessories throughout the story.  On page 63, Benny McClenahan “arrives [to Gatsby’s parties] always with four girls” who are “never quite the same ones in physical person, [but were] so identical one with another that it inevitably seemed they had been there before.” This observation serves to show that physicality makes up a large judgment of a woman. With the era of 1920’s, this statement essentially carves the continued notion that women are arm candy–that they are created to be replicas for entertainment and personal enjoyment.

In chapter 8 of the Language of Composition, in Deborah Tannen‘s essay, There Is No Unmarked Woman, she supports that people have adapted this judgmental attitude in many cases for instance, “women can’t even fill out a form without telling a stories about themselves.” Tannen expresses her experience that while “‘Mr.’ carries no meaning other than that the respondent is male,” “a woman who checks ‘Miss’ or ‘Mrs.’ communicates not only whether she has been married but also whether she has conservative taste…and values.”  No matter what, women are ducked for more than they ask for and when Tannen later shares this in her book on gender differences, television stations and interviewers marked her as “male-bashing” and “feminist”–in the terms that she believes woman are better than men, which is entirely inaccurate.

Picture: Unknown via WWCW

Deborah Tannen believes in equality and is doing something to further this movement. But due to constricted walls pre-built between these two genders, freedom of speech and freedom of being a strong-willed women seems to deem one as “unfair toward men,” because as Tannen says, “there is no unmarked woman.”

Pictures via mattsgifs.tumblr.com

It’s interesting though…that when female figures express the desire for change, they are negatively looked upon. When male figures are instead given standing ovations for expressing their urge for equality.

HD Magazine interview / Via youtube.com

Sure, this adds to the idea of viewing men as “more dominant,” but the fact that people are vocally indicating and identifying that women equally stand as heroes is important and vital. It’s a stepping stone.

Today, we are recognizing this prejudice, yet the cycle of unjustifiably rewarding men more than women is still increasing. In this video from the Golden Globes, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler address George Clooney, a well-accomplished actor who was receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. They compare his success and qualifications in film with his wife, Amal, who is a “human rights lawyer who worked on the Enron case, an adviser to Kofi Annan on Syria and was appointed to a three-person commission investigating rules of war violations in the Gaza strip.”

Essentially, there will always be women who are achieving greatness–there are people who dedicate equal work load, and there will still be tension. On the positive note, we’re addressing it. We’re publicizing it. We’re discovering people like Tsai Ing-wen, first female elected as president in Taiwan, and Malala Yousafzai, young activist for female education and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate. We’re listening to both sides and starting to see the endless potential of women–the equal potential of women and men. 

While this situation is like a stain that washes away but always seems to come back, there are independent figures who are establishing themselves and making big efforts for equality. I have strong beliefs that this treatment is temporary–that we are progressing. The list of not only woman, but also men, who strive to tear this preconceived attitude is increasing and inspiring younger generations to stand up and make a change. So, real question is, when will this inequitable treatment between men and women end? My answer,

We’re getting there.