Oppression of female leadership and strength has always been apparent to

me. In the 50s, it was the stigma of male financial dominance and submissive and
codependent housewives. The gender roles were made very clear and enforced in
demeaning propaganda. Nowadays, the oppression is better disguised. The stigmas
are not as apparent and people seem to be under the impression that they no
longer exist. They deny that women in our society are taught by media and popculture that their most pressing asset is their rear end, and that their self-worth
should be entirely reliant on whether men find them desirable. These messages are
blatantly displayed in songs on the radio and reality television, but are also hidden
throughout our everyday life and seemingly programmed into our brains by society.
Women are expected to be hairless on their entire bodies but with excessive
eyelashes and well groomed eyebrows. We are expected to dehumanize ourselves
in some attempt to be the most desirable amongst our peers. We are expected to
deny that we have human function and bodily fluids, as well as learn that our
privates are to be hidden away as to not distract men or ask for excessive sexual
attention. We are expected to refer to our vaginas by bizarre nicknames and follow
the sexual guidelines made out by men in order to not be called a slut or a
prude. We are expected to pretend as though we are not individuals with unique
desires and unique preferences. We are expected to blindly follow cultural trends
and never question the gender-associated practices that are forced upon us.
To be a housewife is a dream for a lot of young women. To be an engineer or
a doctor is a dream for a lot of young women. Feminist values are not pushing
women to be leaders. Feminism is teaching us that our goals and lifestyle choices
should be based off of our individual preferences, not our genitals or the gender
assigned to us at birth.