Acknowledging the Ladies’ Struggles
Women wake up every single day with our culture weighing on them. Social pressures affect the choices they make in their days. What clothes will I wear today? Who do I need to impress and in what way? Should I wear makeup? Which breakfast food has the least calories? Those are just some questions they ask themselves on a good day. But what happens when there is a male professor who calls on the guys before he calls on them? The morning questions change. Will making an effort in my appearance intimidate him? Should I raise my hand at all? But participation is half of my grade… maybe I shouldn’t sit with my friends today. And what about when they are working while this is going on, and their questions don’t get answered because the boss is a man who only likes the female employees that flirt with him? Or he would rather bullshit with the male coworkers rather than helping. All of this can go on in a woman’s head before their feet touch their bedside floor. This isn’t something that many people talk about because it ‘s not easy to talk about it. Since it isn’t acknowledged, women can tend to feel isolated. When women do talk about these things, people often just call them crazy, or say that they’re “reading too much into it” or “it’s probably not that bad” and of course the “Just butter him up!” This furthers the feeling of isolation in young women when they already have a million and one things to worry about.
There is no one source or reason that college is a difficult time and place for women. There are many factors that play into this stress, and everyone has stress that is unique to them. College aged women are no acceptation. Pressure and stress comes from every direction. To de-stress, these women often turn to their social media: Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook…etc. On these websites, women everywhere tend to put their best picture forward. They showcase their attributes, and that can be empowering for them. However, to the women who come home, looking to shut off their brains for a while, it can add to their stress instead of taking away from it. Why don’t I look like that? Do I need to look like that? Am I better looking than her? I should go to the gym. And stop eating so much. That is a tough one, because another de-stressor for young women, and people in general, is to have a snack! It is satisfying and it gets the blood sugar up. But with the social pressures for women to have a certain figure, snack time often becomes guilt time.
Along with indirectly encouraging consistent reference to nutrition fact labels, these mediums often show the latest styles in fashion. These tend to be…on the pricey side, to say the least. This is a difficult stressor because women tend to be expected to wear nice clothes, or have style. Being a college student doesn’t allow much money to go into things like the nicest yoga pants, or the chucks every other girl is wearing. These women are in college so that they can learn, excel, and get lucrative jobs. A lot of the things online, showcase a lifestyle that these women are working towards, but aren’t quite there yet.
Though many of these women have jobs while attending college, much of that money goes towards food and rent. When there are left overs, some women splurge on getting a spa treatment. Whether it is a facial or waxing, it can make a woman feel better about her self. Those things, however, are directly linked to social pressures, and the media mediums from earlier. Having perfect skin, or being hairless, are beauty standards of young women today. But is that experience de-stressing because it is enjoyable? Having noses and foreheads poked, and having hair in delicate places ripped out, doesn’t sound too soothing. But it is relaxing in the way that it alleviates some of the social pressures weighing them down.
This is not to say that these women don’t practice any healthy ways of coping with stress. Being in Bellingham, Western Washington University students are blessed with relaxing views, beautiful trails, and miles of beach. However, I can’t tell you how many times a day I hear I should really hike more or maybe I’ll go kayaking some time while these women look down at their phones where someone has posted a vlog of themselves rock climbing or walking a trail.
Every single person’s experience is important and should be acknowledged, including these collegiate ladies. Maybe some of these issues seem easy to resolve. Just spend less time of those websites! Who cares what you eat? Don’t look at your phone so much! Go on more hikes! But it isn’t that easy, or simple. With time and money constraints, and their phones always pushing notifications, it is extremely difficult to take full, and off the grid, enjoyable time for themselves.
There is no easy fix to these struggles. It takes a lot of self-control to get into good habits and healthy routines. Being able to do this becomes a lot easier when students discuss these stressors with each other. It also helps when professors understand that their class isn’t the only, and most important, thing happening is their student’s lives. Opening up student teacher communications allows the stresses of school to lessen. These young ladies work hard, and their struggles matter.
