steady as she goes

One thing that women in this age lack is self-assurance along with a belief in themselves to be comfortable with their body shape and all it entails. this lack of confidence is generally caused by the social control that men have over women, along with the constant subjugation of their rights and power. one way that men control the minds and spirits of women to cause doubt in themselves is by making them feel insufficient no matter what they do, in regards to their body and minds. dating all the way back to the nineteenth century women were caught in a double bind when they tried to get access to higher education. according to ruth hubbard "scientists inintially claimed [women] could not be educated because [their] brains were too small" (p.162), therefore they were not fit to study at a higher level than the most basic. she also goes on to say that "if they divert this energy to their brains by studying, their reproductive organs will shrivel, they will become sterile, and the race will die out" (p.162). the idea of women being less intelligent was prevalent for a long period of time until women proved themselves both in the workplace after WWII and in the classroom, exceeding expectations set by men previously to make sure women never succeeded or moved upward in society. on the flip side, women were required to know all about this and that in order to get the cooking and cleaning done. she had to have street-smarts in order to survive in her difficult sphere of the home. so on one hand she is being suppressed by men so that she recieves no formal education, but at the same time is required to know all about her private sphere and social etiquette. men have created this bind so women have no plausible way to succeed in the outside world as they are not equipped with the necessary tools. it forces them back into their private sphere of which they know and cherish as it is one of the only things they find to be common and normal. they make women believe that the only power they hold is the power in the private sphere over the "household" although men tend to believe they hold the power there too seeing as they pay the bills. the work a woman does in the household in not considered real work to society, meaning it merits little appreciation since it so "easy and straightforward". This is another way that men find a way to oppress women and make them feel bad about themselves: make them feel bad and unappreciated for the work they do. emily martin characterizes this situation in "Body Narratives, Body Boundaries" when she says "much of what women do has been interpereted as the natural manifestation of our biology" (p.169). Women's work is degraded so that they recieve no respect for the work they do, even though it is just as, if not more, taxing than the jobs of men in the outside world. men believe that if women hold the same jobs as them, they are no longer of a subservient class and are capable the same as men, which releases them from the bind of passivity and piety. until they break the label put on them by men, women will be considered weak and worthless in society's eyes. what needs to happen is for women to be strong, stand up for themselves at all times, don't give into gender roles and be conscious of their actions and language, and change the views of men unable to see the abilities of women outside their stereotypes. ehh i could've done better.