This I Believe: Know That You Can

Every year at ESK, eighth grade students share their “This I Believe” essays with their fellow classmates during Chapel. Students are tasked with sharing a life lesson they have learned with the student body. According to the “This I Believe” organization website, students are encouraged to “start by telling a compelling story about how you came to hold an important personal belief—something that guides your daily living.” The talks are based on the “This I Believe” radio show hosted by Edward R. Murrow more than 50 years ago. Students all over the country – and the world – participate in the “This I Believe” project each year. ESK will feature several of these essays, including today’s from eighth grader Lu Warnke.

 

“But you’re a girl, you can’t do it.” This is something girls in our society are so used to hearing, they don’t even think twice about how wrong it is. According to people who say this, girls can’t be strong, girls can’t be emotionally stable, girls can’t be smart, and girls can’t do anything on their own. We look at girls and wonder why they have such low self-esteem when the answer is right under our noses: it’s our fault. We send all kinds of messages, both subtle and direct, telling girls that they are nothing more than objects that are made to sit around and look pretty.

One of the biggest ways we hold girls down is through gender roles. In case you don’t know, gender roles are basically a set of expectations for boys and girls.  For example, girls are pressured to like the color pink, makeup, fashion, and glitter.  Boys, on the other hand, are expected to be into things like blue, machines, and sports. When I was little, I never really conformed to gender roles. I liked dinosaurs, my favorite color was blue, and instead of wanting to be a dancer or a princess, I wanted to be a scientist when I grew up.  Because of this, some of the teachers at my elementary school started to worry about me. They constantly pressured me to go play princesses with the other girls instead of looking at bugs and reading books. Honestly, I don’t really blame them for anything. We’re so used to enforcing these expectations; we forget just how bad they are. While there isn’t anything wrong with girls wanting to put on a little makeup or paint their room pink, there is something wrong with making all girls conform to these ideals. They keep kids from realizing the opportunities they have and give them a harder time being their own person.

Another example of how we limit girls is sexualization. For example, when a boy’s shoulders are visible, it isn’t a big deal. Nobody freaks out about it, and no one tells him to cover them up. But, when girls show their shoulders, they’re punished and told to cover them up. The message it sends is that even though it’s the same body part, it’s disgusting and unacceptable because it belongs to a girl. Girls are also told that their value as a person depends on their appearance. We are expected to have long hair, perfect skin, and weigh no more than ninety pounds. Girls are constantly told that if they don’t meet this impossible expectation, then they are worthless. These messages are extremely damaging to many girls’ self-esteem. It tells them their bodies are inferior and ugly, causing them to stop valuing their bodies and, in some cases, develop eating disorders and even depression.

Even as adults, women struggle to prove themselves as equals. For instance, in the entertainment industry, women make up about 7% of directors, 11% of writers, 23% of producers, 19% of executive producers, 18% of editors, and 5% of cinematographers. As for on-the-camera talent, women only made up 12% of protagonists in 2014’s most popular films. To further illustrate this bias, only 30% of characters with speaking roles are portrayed by women. Out of these characters, 58% played personal roles such as a wife, mother, or love interest while only 34% had professional roles. Why are these numbers so low? Because the industry became popular in a time when very few women were considered adequate to do much in the industry. Even though it’s been more than one hundred years since this time, women still struggle to integrate into the entertainment industry. Studies even show a preference to men over women when it comes to employment in the business. Not enough proof for you? Let’s take a look at another industry: engineering and computer science. Only 13% of engineers are women while women make up only 25% of computer and mathematical scientists. There’s a logical explanation for this too. Recent studies show that many girls who were once very interested in science and math lose interest in science after eighth grade. It also shows that girls are more likely to get bad grades in science even though they do just as well as boys. These numbers are caused by cultural messages, both subtle and direct, that discourage girls from pursuing careers and encourage them to lean towards simply having children and staying home. Again, there isn’t anything wrong with choosing this path, but girls shouldn’t be pressured into doing this or feel like it’s their only option.

Girls, this is my message to you: Next time someone tells you that you can’t do something, know that you can. Be as smart as Marie Curie, as determined as Amelia Earhart, as brave as Ida B. Wells, and as strong as Susan B. Anthony. Show them that they are wrong, and that girls can do anything. It’s about time our society finally stopped limiting us. You are just as strong, just as smart, just as good as the boys, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. This I believe.