Insight to the modern woman

Gender equality has improved greatly, but it is an ongoing endeavor

By: Amber Dillon

Posted: 3/5/04

Today it is OK for a woman to tell a boss what's on her mind, to have that second cat and to choose not to be in a relationship. But how far has she truly come - and what does the future hold for the students of today, which in turn will become the women of tomorrow?

Though the feminist movement has been raging since the 1960s, it is now in the new millennium that people are beginning to openly embrace and even push for the lifestyle of the "modern woman."

Every day, new ground is being broken and women are getting further and further away from those that came before them. Even in the last 10 years there have been significant changes.

But what has caused the modern woman's current state - is it pop culture and a changing society, or have women just learned from the mistakes of their mothers and the women before them?

STUDENT OPINIONS

"The modern woman sees herself as a unique individual first and foremost - family, friends, success and career fulfillment are all byproducts of knowing oneself first," said Rebecca Stubbs, a senior international business major, adding that marriage and partnership have become increasingly unsuccessful ventures.

"Today's modern and savvy woman is right to be cautious in entering a relationship with such a high probability of failure - this is not necessarily a good or bad trend, it's simply a result of our shifting culture," Stubbs said.

UA students are among a new generation of young people coming into a world of change and choice. For women, it couldn't get any better - or could it?

"The modern woman is constantly striving to improve her place in society," sophomore Marla Ladue said. "Even though improvements have been made, equality in all aspects has not been achieved. Stereotypes still remain however much we are led to believe that equality has been achieved."

NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Susan Marren, professor and chair of the UA Gender Studies Program, said feminism is a strong force today because young women don't have the same resistance that women before had - making it possible to have both a career and a family.

"You'd hope the modern woman sees herself as having choices in education, professional direction and marriage - but how many women actually have those choices opens up that question," Marren said.

Women also seem to have stopped competing over men so much as they compete over jobs and opportunity.

Though the thought of ending up alone is enough to drive some women to the local singles bar, they seem to be more worried about missed professional opportunities.

"In the [partnership] scenario, we compete with other women, but in careers we are competing with men, too," Marren said, adding that this is a good trend and competition strengthens people. "It so narrows the scope that the highest achievement would be landing a man with lots of money - not only does [not doing this] free women, it frees men to look at them differently, as equals."

But today, are women pushing past that equal mark to something even more fiercely independent?

In the February issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, writer Ruth G. Davis says there are many ways in which today's social shifts are making men feel obsolete.

Davis says it starts in high school, where girls make better grades than boys.

As a result, women receive 57 percent of all bachelor degrees from American colleges and will soon be awarded more post-graduate and doctoral degrees, too.

Davis says that this trend is making some men feel uncomfortable and frustrated, much like the way most women felt 40 years ago.

According to Davis' research, women are now doing things alone that they used to wait to do with men.

This includes buying real estate and experiencing childbirth.

More than 30 percent of all births are to unwed mothers, she reported.

But Marren said if women are really beginning to believe men and partnership are becoming obsolete, they are not completely grasping the socioeconomic world they are entering.

"Most people are not anchor people - they are not making the kind of income that makes that economically easy," she said, adding that not only is it economically demanding to raise a family solo, but emotionally demanding as well.

"It's becoming more of an imaginable option to go it alone - that may be true for both women and men," Marren said. "But at the same time there are conservative sentiments I hear among my students - they want families [so] that wouldn't be an appealing option to consider."

MEDIA CULTURE

Though there are many positive aspects to the forward movement of women today, Marren said, there is definitely more to accomplish by way of women's liberation, as women are still made sexual objects in today's culture.

"We have a long way [to go with] liberating women, especially [taking] young women from the grip of these tyrannical beauty ideals," Marren said.

These beauty ideals, stemming from television to magazines, often make it hard for the modern woman to focus on her accomplishments and not just her waist size.

Some say television not only portrays unreachable beauty ideals, but it's also wishy-washy in its portrayal of independent women in general.

It is true that these days one finds more Mary Tyler Moore-types than Million Dollar Man-types, a la Sex and the City, but Marren said the producers not only make them single, but they also write them as thinking that there is something wrong with that.

Turn on any modern program with a single woman as the lead and there is still some sort of stigma.

They're neurotic, they cry to their friends and they bounce from relationship to relationship.

But is this trend happening because popular culture is trying to fuel the changing demands of women, or are they a reflection of the times?

It is safe to say that young women today aren't heading to universities to find and marry would-be doctors and lawyers.

They are going to school to become them - but will their drive soon give birth to a world full of singles, leading to another option to that of the nuclear family - the lone woman?

"I guess the ideal is that the possibilities are expanding for young people [and] what kind of lives are acceptable to lead," Marren said. "Women can imagine more alternatives."