Blog Two: Chapter 6- Authenticity

There was one idea that stuck with me as I was reading chapter six titled authenticity. This idea was the interesting note when a study was taken of children who were asked, “what if you suddenly woke up as the opposite sex. How would your lives be different?” I was surprised to see that 50% of the girls saw advantages in being male and only 7% of the boys saw advantages in being female. (Many students writing that they would commit suicide if they woke up as a girl). Many of the girls found it interesting to think about life as a boy, however, 20% of the boys gave hostile and derogatory responses to being female. I couldn’t believe the words I was reading. Seriously, what is so bad about being a female? We have survived this long.

There is also that pressure of boys vs. girls and it has been there forever, it seems. Constantly pushing yourself to be somehow better than the other, but if you look at it closer, the fight girls deal with is just to be noticed as equal. The number of girls who enrolled in colleges is significantly higher than boys these days, but interestingly enough; men with college degrees are paid about $30,000 dollars more than women with college degrees. Where is the equality now?

After reading this chapter in particular, I felt as though the inequalities that women face in regards to how other men view them, I feel as though not much has changed. The roles are slightly modified, but are we truly anywhere close to being “equal?”