Like this:

So I’m going to post a disclaimer before everyone gets up in arms about what I’m going to say. This is my opinion, if you don’t agree that is just fine because its MY opinion. I’d love to hear yours, write me a comment, I’ll comment back, promise. But don’t be mad at me because its what I think….yup okay onto the blog.

So as most of you know, and if you don’t know you haven’t been paying attention, I’ll be attending Smith College in the fall. (Yes, I am very excited) One of the biggest questions I get asked is why I picked an all woman’s school. I have to admit that I never thought that I would be attending one, it always seemed so counter to what I am. I’m pretty tomboyish, one of my best friends is a guy and I like to do guy things. I ended up applying to a lot of all woman’s schools not because they were that way but because I liked the schools. Yet, the more I learn about the benefits of an all woman’s education the more I think that every girl should be forced to do it. It empowers them and gives them self confidence that is not found elsewhere. Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of places that empower woman that are coed but schools like Smith, Barnard, Wellesley and Mount Holyoke (to name just a few) (If you are interested in more look up the seven sisters) have got this down to an art. The schools are tailored to the needs of the modern day woman and well personally I think that it is important for every girl to feel good and confident about herself. As you can guess in the community I am quickly falling in love with there is a lot of talk about woman’s rights and all that jazz and this brings me to another story about myself, well two really.

The Seven Sister Colleges: created at a time when an ivy league education wasn’t open to women. The schools in the order that their picture loaded when I was googling (look spell check says I made up another word…see the rest of the post for the first one) them

Vassar College

Mt. Holyoke College

Barnard College (which is semi-attached to Columbia University)

My darling Smith College, whom I love very much

Wellesley College

Bryn Mawr College

Radcliffe College which has since been absorbed by Harvard University

P.S. If you click on the photos they link you to the school’s websites (or in the case of Radcliffe to Harvard’s site)

When I was little my idol was Queen Elizabeth I in fact for years I used to tell people I was named after her (which I’m not btw, I’m named after my Aunt, Mary Elizabeth Wroth. She’s an amazing woman, a police officer and she used to train drug dogs which is totally awesome. Anywho she’s a big role model for me but back to the point.) Elizabeth always represented a woman ahead of her time who represented a strong, and powerful woman. A lot of girls in the Smith community really love her as well. My mother and father never wanted me to be a weak little girl and they never limited what I did because of my sex (for instance I used to play with bugs as a child…gross I know but hey) so Elizabeth was good role model because she certainly didn’t let her sex stop her. But as a little girl I refused to wear anything but dresses. Just wouldn’t do it, buy me all the clothes and pants you wanted but it wouldn’t happen. Then I entered a new period, a period I am still recovering from. I turned into the ultimate tomboy. I refused to wear dresses (I still don’t like too) and I hated pink (still do) I pushed away (quite forcefully I might add) from everything that was, what I viewed as, forced onto girls because they were girls. You might call it my ummm rebellious stage. Still to this day I idolize strong women who broke barriers. I mean come on, my bonsai trees name is Belva Lockwood (first woman to argue a case before the supreme court) and my sage plant is name Sandra (after Sandra Day O’Connor, if you don’t know who she is shame on you, go look it up). I have never backed down because of my sex and I don’t plan on ever doing that.

A few years ago this company came out with this design called running skirts . I was not a happy camper (well that’s putting it lightly). I remember going into one of my ummm ‘monologues’ and complaining how they were sexualizing (spell check is telling me I just made that word up but I don’t believe it) women and setting back woman’s rights the usual rant. Well, every year Disneyland holds their annual half marathon/5k I was at the expo picking up my registration the day before and I ran across their booth. Well my mother being who she is (love you mom) she convinced me to try one on and because they are a small company (what can I say, I’m a total sucker for those start up companies) I bought one and I wore it the next day. Well, I’ll spare you the details but in the end I came to a realization.

In the feminist movement their were/are two warring factions who do not like each other. The militants reject everything that is feminine feminists and the well they have a couple of names lipstick/stilleto/skirt feminists…i like the first two myself. Both of these groups have their place in the movement, although I sometimes wish they would get along better. This is the realization that I came to and I guess groups me with one of them. Feminism is not about rejecting everything that you feel has been pushed onto you because of your sex but about feeling empowered and confident in your skin. It is about being able to stand up for yourself and against others who discount your opinion because your a female. I like the way the skirt made me look, I liked the swish that it made as I totally whipped past this guy at the finish, and thank you very much I like the way I look in a short skirt/dress and high heels. I’m okay with my sexuality in fact I like it, and when I dress up its not too look good for the guys, its to look good for myself and be confident in the way I look. Same thing goes for makeup, although I do find it frustrating and not worth the time most of the time.

That being said I think today’s media has tainted young girls and over sexualized them. It upsets me. Its not just men that are doing it, its women too. Its companies setting standards that young girls can never achieve because they aren’t actually real, its vanity sizing, its airbrushing, its putting unrealistic weak-assed women on T.V. and calling them beautiful and telling girls that this is ‘hot’. It drives me INSANE!!! Take a look at these two videos put out by Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty (they have their issues but I’m ignoring that right now)

This one first

then this one…don’t blink

It scared the crap out of me the other night when two twelve year old girls who I adore started singing California Gurls by Katy Perry. Now I will admit that I like the song but I understand that it is a) unrealistic and not healthy for girls who don’t understand that what she is saying is not what we want women to be and b) over sexualized just like everything in this world. It greatly disturbs me that they were singing this song, they don’t get the meaning but that’s even worse.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading about Islamic countries lately and women’s roles there. The woman cover themselves, we know this. Head coverings, face coverings, body coverings. A lot of westerners take issue with this and I can see why. Coming from a Western upbringing we see it as men forcing themselves upon women and oppressing them. We want all woman to be ‘liberated’ and free to make their own decisions and what not. This is a good idea, in fact its a great one. Educate everyone, down to the last little girl. (Don’t go off on me about the West saving everyone that’s not what I’m saying at all) Teach people to respect and love each other, to fight against their oppressors and to seek their human rights. Teach every little girl that she is worth just as much as any little boy, and teach the little boy that he is worth just as much as any little girl. Teach every girl that she is truly beautiful and special and deserves an education, plz do this. But when people get up in arms about the woman covering themselves think about this. The Church of Latter Day Saints encourages modesty. My friend is LDS and she doesn’t wear things that don’t cover her shoulders. This isn’t oppression, for her it is modesty. I don’t walk around in a bikini all the time, granted I’ve been known to hang around the house in shorts and a sports bra but I put a shirt on when I go outside and even if I’m running and I take the shirt off I put it back on, its modesty. I don’t advertise myself like a street walker (that’s another blog entry). For these women their coverings are modesty issues and that my friend is a-okay with me. In fact, I think they are truly beautiful. I love to look at the different patterns and the trim and what not, I love them. I’m thinking of buying some just because I like them. Yup, yup.

So I guess my point would be this. Next time you get up in arms about the oppression these women face. Think twice. Some of these women are forced to wear them, but for many of them its their culture and their choice. Instead of getting righteously indignant about that, get mad about nine year olds forced to marry twenty years olds in Yemen or something like that (that story to follow in my next blog entry). My other point is, next time you see a little girl tell her that she is and will always be a beautiful and powerful woman who can accomplish anything she sets her mind to. Tell her that you will always believe in her and push her and help her strive to accomplish her goals. And that my friends, is why I am going to an all woman’s college. I want to make a difference in the world for little girls and help them learn the lessons that I have been so fortunate to learn.

Here are my essays from Smith with their prompts, sums up my feelings.

When Smith College was founded in 1871, there were few educational opportunities for women. Is a women’s college still relevant in 2009? (Limit response to 150 words)

When Madeleine Albright became the first woman Secretary of State, she received a pin containing glass shards: she had broken ‘the glass ceiling.’ In that pin is the reason that a women’s college is still relevant in 2009. Despite many broken ceilings in the past 138 years, men still make more money than women, women are still under-represented in the workplace, and out of 44 U.S. presidents none are women. If a woman is to break that last glass ceiling and become President, if women are to achieve substantial gains in equality in my generation, the proven benefits of an all-women’s education are still relevant this year and for many years to come.

How did you first learn of Smith College and why are you applying? (Limit response to 100 words.)

As a young woman interested in pursuing politics, Smith is the most compelling school on the map, from the cutting edge academics to the education focused on promoting women’s education and success. At Smith, I met women who were passionate, intelligent and strong without exception, who possessed that ‘special
something’ I can only identify as how I want to be. Smith fosters an environment in which diverse, articulate, smart, and competitive women can be themselves without apology.

P.S. Happy Birthday to my Uncle David and to my favorite country on earth and as Mark Twain once said “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.”

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