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Where's the substance?
By Letia C Gathright   
Rated "G" by the Author.
Last edited: Monday, June 04, 2007
Posted: Monday, June 04, 2007

It has started to become evident to me that when people talk about "women's interests", often times equals a lack of substance

After doing a fair amount of internet research, it has started to become evident to me that when people talk about “women’s interests” it often times equals a lack of substance. I have stumbled upon article after article about how to find the man of your dreams or loose 10 pounds in 10 days. The question that popped into my mind after a great deal of search is, “is this all women are interested in?” I myself don’t think so.

I recently finished up a Women’s Studies course this past semester and learned a great deal about myself and the issues facing women today. So many of these issues we don’t even see when it is right in front of us. And even more frightening is the issues we do see but do nothing about.

There has been a great deal of discussion in recent news regarding the gender wage gap. Women with the same education and experience still earn 20% less than their male counterparts. It’s hard to believe since women outnumber men on college campuses and do better academically overall. Yet no one seems to have an explanation.

Another issue of consequence is how women are portrayed in the media. We often see women classified in the category of sexy or not. The sex appeal of women is used to sell everything from cleaning products to cars. It’s not very often do you see a reference to woman’s intelligence or talents. Once again, we are shown what is important to society at large.

A final issue that goes perfectly alone with media portrayal is body image. What images are we inundated with day after day in society? We are shown images of women trying to be as thin as possible on television, in magazines, in movies and on billboards. Just today I was reading a magazine that had a special edition to show off celebrities who were already thin loosing even more weight. Is that what matters in the long run? Being a size 0 as opposed to a 2? There is nothing wrong with being thin but when you go to extreme measures to achieve the body you want, it is no longer healthy. Unfortunately, these images just foster a world rife with eating disorders and shallow, image conscious individuals.

What are we as women to do? I think we owe it to ourselves to look deeper. We have to look past the designer clothes and miracle beauty products and into ourselves. When we are happy with the person inside, what shows on the outside is beautiful no matter what.