Ramblings #10 (Sandwiches and Sexism)

I'm a girl, yes. but I refuse to make any of these for guys,
unless I work at a sandwich shop.

The meme is super popular these days. You can go online to know your meme and just see what reddit and memebase can do to normal people (bad luck brian? heard of him?) Memes are hilarious, but many of them are against women.

Like this one: 

I've seen this one a thousand times. It's funny, but it's sexist. It reinforces what the media is portraying women as. It portrays women as submissive, and if not submissive, the media calls women "bitchy." The male is the alpha male and expects the woman to be submissive, just like every TV show there is to see. 

I saw a documentary called Miss Representation that portrays this sexism very well. With staggering stats and many women speaking out against this phenomenon, we see the other side of the media: the afflicted. I'm someone who is very afflicted by the media. I'm a big girl. I'm healthy, other than my occasional nutella kick. No shame in that. The media, with airbrushing and Photoshop, makes this impossible standard of beauty that us women can't hold on to, and frankly that is enough to piss me off. 

I know that I'm not perfect like the media would want me to be. I want to be a spokesperson, and I know that I will get the short end of the stick if my looks are not up to par: I mean come on, I'm going to be representing a company. They're gonna want me to look good. No problem with that, though. 

I like looking good. So do many other women at the college I go to. I did some people watching and I learned very quickly that many of the women here are dressed to impress, whether it be themselves or somebody else. a lot (not all) of women here wear clothing that is revealing. They're showing off their best assets, if you will, and if they're not wearing revealing clothes, they're still wearing clothing that are very stylish. This reinforces that notion and the stereotype of women that they should only care about their looks. Come on, college is not meant to be a fashion show. It's supposed to be a workout for your mind. It's supposed to be academic knowledge, rather than your fashion knowledge. Look cute if you want to, but also make sure your mind is sharp. That's what I do. :)

~Brieanna Romero