Me and  a couple of goons from the original crew

My goal this semester was to take classes that I would actually like and be excited to learn in. I think I have and I really, really hope it stays that way. This Soc class is important to me because I've always been sort of interested and confused in the inequalities in gender. Being the youngest girl in an Asian family sort of magnifies those things a lot. But this class actually really brings back some memories of how I was brought up and where I come from... you'll see why...

 I've always been quite a girly girl, liking fashion and makeup and things like that. But at the same time I always wanted to play with the boys and sort of be one of them. Not ACTUALLY be a boy, but to have that same sort of camaraderie and freedom that they have, that girls, for some reason just don't. I kind of just gravitate towards them for those reasons. The majority of my friends have almost always been boys. I have had very few lasting friendships with girls and quite a few well lasting friendships with guys. I'd say the ratio is about 20/80... which is sad to say the least.

Maybe at some point this class will help me figure out why I work this way... because I'm not a tomboy or anything. Guys are just generally... nicer to hang out with... sorry, girls. (except the DAMN crew... you know who you are ;P <3 forever)

Point Proven. Photo creds to Sam! (from the Sweatiest Hike if you remember... Michael and Willis are in the pic if you can spot them ;P)

In this particular session we were talking about gender privilege and the gender biases when it comes to careers, the sciences, and the gender pay gap. The novel length below is what I ended up submitting for a discussion post assignment... GO. ME.


The recurring thought that came to me during class is where the negative connotations of gender privilege comes from. We talked mostly about how the biases and advantages that males have above females in the career force.

We all know this isn't a new idea, it has been this way in a majority of cultures for as long as history can tell us. But why? What's so different about males and females that causes this rift? The obvious answer is physicality, Males tend to be stronger, larger, and sharper in structure and appearance, women tend to be weaker, smaller, and softer. That is simply how nature tends to make us, to deviate from it takes a lot of work. But the other glaring difference is that women bear children, and men do not.

My mother was never able to attend college because of financial restrictions and also because she was pregnant with my older sister. Even if both my parents had the same intellectual/academic capabilities it would have made more sense for my Father to go to university instead of my mother.

Women, physically, the odds are against us. In the present world, the responsibilities of having children are still daunting but not quite so threatening as they used to be. Women in the past were more likely to have children at an earlier age than we presently do, and in the past  there were none of the advanced and safe conditions that make having children so safe today. There was no way for women to hold positions that required continuous work and research becaue they would at sometime need to leave to have children and take care of them.

I believe that the negative connotations of privilege come from a normalization of misunderstood information. History would tell us that women are weak and incapable because we need to bear children. We lost our credibility because we were never given the chance to prove those ideas wrong. In countries like Belgium (1) where women are guaranteed/required to take at least 9 weeks paid maternity leave and post natal care is readily available. Fathers are also given 7 days of paid leave during and after the birth. Versus the United States where even paid maternity leave is not mandated(4). The gender pay gap in Belgium has dropped to just 10%(2) compared to the current 21% (3) in the U.S.

I don't believe that true equality can ever be reached there are too many differences and variables in the human race that cannot be measured accurately or defined. But in the words of Marie Curie, "Have no fear of perfection; you'll never reach it.""Nothing in life is to be feared; it is only to be understood." ,
The more we understand about these subjects will allow us to correct and change our our theories and understandings.



1) http://www.expatica.com/be/healthcare/maternity/Having-a-baby-in-Belgium_100241.html
2) http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/files/gender_pay_gap/140227_gpg_brochure_web_en.pdf
3) http://www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/
4) http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/07/15/422957640/lots-of-other-countries-mandate-paid-leave-why-not-the-us