March is Womens' History Month.
While I am grateful for the women { and men} in my life who have encouraged me to be the innovative, strong, most creative human I can be, I do recognize that there was and is much gender bias against girls & women even now.
Growing up, I played with children of both genders. Since we lived in rural northern Appalachia, I played outside { in the dirt} with children of both genders & did not see anything wrong with this arrangement until puberty. As a pre- teen my parents subscribed to " TEEN MAGAZINE for me while buying " SPORTS ILLUSTRATED FOR KIDS for my younger brother.
Say what?!
I , as do most American teens, totally bought into the idea of what is " feminine": n obsessive interests in fashion, celebrity gossip, and finding a boyfriend. were the norms among my female classmates in the 5th grade .I, like most girls of that age, started to notice boys. But the boys whom I found attractive I sought among my classmates & playmates...I did not understand why the girls in my class suddenly acted coy and silly around the boys. Instead of working and playing together, my fifth-grade class became a virtual mine of cattiness. A tall and awkward { both physically & socially} girl, I retreated into my books while the other girls started the cat-and-mouse game of 0ne-upmanship. Suddenly it became apparent to me that " popularity" and quests to win the favor of the class "Queen Bee" were important.
Even as an adult, I see evidence of this mentality in my adult life. Women are overly concerned with one-upmanship and placating the " queen bee" of their social group{s]The media saturate our senses with the idea that women must compete with one another regarding me, looks and {for some} careers.
Why cannot we women move beyond fifth grade?
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