Expectations of Women: unrealistic,unattainable and unreasonable

From a young age girls are taught they must fulfill the expectations of a woman in order to meet society’s ideal. This influence media has on women has a very negative effect on women's body images. Media puts unfair pressure and impossible standards on women to have perfect a body and skin. A teenage girl is expected to cover her body from head to toe so men won’t objectified their bodies or suffer the consequences if she is wearing revealing clothes as she is “asking for it”. A mother is expected to take care of her family and stay strong despite the pressure she feels to get everything done. All of your life men pressure you to be a certain way or you aren't worthy of their time. These expectations are very unrealistic, unattainable and unreasonable for women and girls.

The image shows a women getting ready to have her body changed to the proportions of a barbie doll. The photographer uses a symbol of a famous childhood toy the barbie to represent what a women should aim to look like. From a young age girls are constantly facing the pressures of being skinny and beautiful like a barbie doll and think the only way they will be good enough is if they diet,starve themselves or get major surgical procedures done. Additionally, facial expressions are used to show the girls disappointment in her body and how she feels the only way she will be happy is if she changes herself. women will go as far as mutilating and distorting their own bodies in the hopes of becoming a more ideal version of beauty in society .In my opinion, she is changing her body so people will see her as beautiful but she will never truly feel that way because in the back of her mind she will always wonder why she wasn’t good enough.

The image shown is of the variation of words a girl will receive based on the length of her skirt. Rosea Lake posted this photo and called it “judgement”on her tumblr and over the matter of days the photo went viral. The image uses text down her leg to show how depending on where her skirt length ends reflects on how people perceive her as a person. A women is expected to dress a certain way or her body becomes an object in the eyes of men. Why should a women have to wonder am I going to be raped if I wear this outfit today? when a woman decides she is going to wear a provocative outfit in men’s eyes she is asking to be sexually and verbally harassed. The expectations of elders pressure young women to cover up their bodies but a women shouldn’t have to cover her body to avoid harassment from men.

This photo demonstrates a family seeming so happy but is everyone really happy? The women in the photo is a homemaker meanwhile the father is suited up like he just got home from work. The photo uses clothing to distinguish the roles of what the mother and father do for a living. A women is expected to stay at home and take care of the kids while the man goes to work and brings in all the money. Also, the photo uses facial expressions to show that they may seem like a typical happy family but the woman is forced to be a homemaker as a women can not work up to level as a man. The women in the photo is expected to follow the stereotypical role of a women and stay at home with the kids, clean the house, and prepare meals for her family despite her longing for acceptance as an equal to be able to be the provider for her family.

This image shows single mother Florence Owen Thompson in 1936 with three of her children. The photo uses black and white to show the dark times many faced throughout the great depression. Also, facial expressions are used to show the stress and pain the woman feels to make money and provide food for her children after her husband died.  The woman was expected to do whatever it took for her children to make a living, Florence did it exactly that she worked four jobs and went without so her children could be successful. I think a major expectation for moms still is to make sure your children are happy and healthy even if it means them doing without.

In Conclusion, young age girls are taught they must fulfill the expectations of a woman in order to meet society’s idea. These expectations include having a certain body, dressing appropriately, staying at home with the kids and finally always putting others first. Women spend their whole life trying to exceed these expectations to be considered society’s ideal of “good enough” and are willing to do whatever it takes to make this happen.

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