Gender Inequality in Families

     While growing up I always viewed my grandparents' strict stances on what was "women's work" and what was "men's work" to just be traditional or old- fashioned. but after reading chapter twelve I recognize those outlooks to be distinctly gender inequality. For as far back as I can remember there have been starkly- defined tasks for the males and females when visiting my grandparents. They live in northern Minnesota so their property requires a fair amount of upkeep and we help with as much as possible while there. My grandpa, dad, and brother would be charged with things like cutting down dead trees, fixing the dock, trimming weeds along the shore, and maintaining the fishing boat. Meanwhile, my grandma, mom, sister, and myself kept busy with garden work, cooking, laundry, general cleaning inside or outside the cabin, and getting whatever refreshments or tools the guys may happen to need.
     It was always incredibly frustrating to be made feel inferior by phrases like "You'll get hurt; let the boys do that." After a large fire wiped out a major portion of my grandparents' property during my senior year of high school I finally had the chance to prove to them that I was much more capable than they thought. A ton of clean up needed to take place so they took all the help they could get. Of course, they were extremely surprised to witness a girl so competent in the woods and with tools; I was far more useful than my brother. Since then my grandparents no longer underestimate women to quite the same extent and when we visit them the division of tasks is a little bit more open.

Assignment #12: Gender Inequality in the Media

     While reading chapter twelve I was particularly interested in the topic of how women are portrayed in the media and how that affects young girls. It seems like the idols of adolescent girls today come almost exclusively from the pool of rich and famous women taking center stage in music, movies, and magazines. Although these successful, independent women often radiate the message of being able to accomplish anything if you set your mind to it, the underlying tones of sexuality and the possibility of a perfect body always come with it. The incredibly unrealistic standards set by Hollywood has resulted in an epidemic of young girls adopting eating disorders to follow suit. Pair that with over-the-top makeup and risque clothing and you have the resulting age-inappropriate reality that dominates grade schools around the country.
     I have done some research on this issue in the past and have found that this sexualization has been directly linked to the three most common mental problems among girls and women: eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression (American Psychology Association). There is also evidence piling up leading to the conclusion that the effect of media on mothers is incredibly influential on their daughters. Adolescent girls are completely surrounded by messages of what to look like and how to be, and it starts at an extremely young age. Barbie seems to be the epitome of unattainable goals and most girls in the U.S. play with Barbie around the age of four or five.
     Although I think gender inequality is entwined in the structures of societies across the globe and heavily affects the lives of men as well, the nature of women in the media is something that is causing rampant self-image issues among adolescent girls in the U.S.