The struggles of the women of the early twentieth century are not so far removed from us today that we cannot empathize. Women of the twenty-first century, you have your own cultural stereotypes looming over your shoulder while you work, and when you dress to go out at night. You have the expectation of being lesser than you can be, that a man can do your job better still, and that if you attempt to have a career it is irresponsible for you to have a family and children as well. You have widespread idealized versions of womanhood that are at polar extremes that you are compared to daily. We have the corporate bitch, the soccer mom, and the slut, the highly sexually objectified woman that’s sole purpose is to please men through print media, billboards, television, the film industry, and the internet.
Virginia was right, that even with the opportunities for advancement there would be other obstacles, some old, some new. With sexual freedom has come sexual expectation, where a woman is expected to be sexual and if she is, she’s a slut. We walk a fine line every day between what we think is acceptable and comfortable for us, and what men want from us based on our age bracket and position in society. Aged eighteen to twenty-nine, you are to be highly sexual and ought to please men with your dress, social demeanor and private practices. Aged thirty to forty-five, you are to be a mother baptized by marriage and reborn pure as the driven snow, the only sexual thoughts you have are about your husband and for his pleasure. Aged forty-five to eighty you are a divorcee no longer sexual and therefore no longer needed. We are still taught from a very early age that we are here on this earth to serve men. These generalizations may seem extreme, and they are. These are the notions we combat everyday in our professional and personal lives. Even if the men in our lives don’t view us this way, others do and that is something we will be battling into the unforeseen future.