How Society's Expectations of Females Shape Girls' Lives
Michelle Plante
10/10/12
How Society’s Expectations of Females Shape Girls’ Lives Society’s high expectations of females guide their everyday actions and decision making whether consciously or subconsciously. In Stephen Hinshaw’s essay “Impossible Expectations” he discusses what he calls the “Triple Bind” where girls are supposed to be good at both typical girl and guy things as well as conform to a specific set of standards created by society. These contradictory expectations shape girls’ lives and drive their decision making from what type of career they will pursue to how they dress. Hinshaw also explained that girls are supposed to fit a cookie cutter image portrayed by the media yet encouraged to break the mold at the same time, hence the title of his essay. Although the expectations are confusing, girls have a natural aim to please and want to be accepted by society. These learned expectations are passed on from one generation to the next.
“Virgins” by Danielle Evans and “The Story of My Body” by Judith Ortiz Cofer provide great examples of female expectations and how they shape girls’ lives. In both of the stories, the main characters are very concerned with their overall physical appearance and male approval. In “Virgins”, the main character plays the traditional female role according to Hinshaw’s descriptions. In “The Story of My Body”, the main character plays both the traditional female and male role expected from today’s society. The details of the stories and how they support Hinshaw’s essay are explained below.
Girls have always been expected to play the stereotypical female role to be nice, look pretty, and help others before themselves. So much time and money is spent on beauty products because it is a top priority for girls to look good. In “The Story of My Body”, the entire story is about the narrator’s appearance. It is even broken down into color, size and skin for topics of discussion. The narrator explained that she learned from her mother
10/10/12
How Society’s Expectations of Females Shape Girls’ Lives Society’s high expectations of females guide their everyday actions and decision making whether consciously or subconsciously. In Stephen Hinshaw’s essay “Impossible Expectations” he discusses what he calls the “Triple Bind” where girls are supposed to be good at both typical girl and guy things as well as conform to a specific set of standards created by society. These contradictory expectations shape girls’ lives and drive their decision making from what type of career they will pursue to how they dress. Hinshaw also explained that girls are supposed to fit a cookie cutter image portrayed by the media yet encouraged to break the mold at the same time, hence the title of his essay. Although the expectations are confusing, girls have a natural aim to please and want to be accepted by society. These learned expectations are passed on from one generation to the next.
“Virgins” by Danielle Evans and “The Story of My Body” by Judith Ortiz Cofer provide great examples of female expectations and how they shape girls’ lives. In both of the stories, the main characters are very concerned with their overall physical appearance and male approval. In “Virgins”, the main character plays the traditional female role according to Hinshaw’s descriptions. In “The Story of My Body”, the main character plays both the traditional female and male role expected from today’s society. The details of the stories and how they support Hinshaw’s essay are explained below.
Girls have always been expected to play the stereotypical female role to be nice, look pretty, and help others before themselves. So much time and money is spent on beauty products because it is a top priority for girls to look good. In “The Story of My Body”, the entire story is about the narrator’s appearance. It is even broken down into color, size and skin for topics of discussion. The narrator explained that she learned from her mother