The Value of Beauty

In today's society we constantly idolize physical attractiveness.  People such as models, actors and singers are constantly being publicized in a manner that shows how unnaturally perfect they are and that average, everyday people should strive to both look and be like them since they are are standard of beauty and perfection.  However, this standard of beauty is completely unrealistic because that standard of perfection can only be achieved on a magazine page and never in real life.  The standards of this beauty are created by magic computer programs that erase anything that would even consider making these people any less attractive and that emphasize and enlarge things that the public does find attractive.  Therefore, our perception of beauty is completely based on an unattainable idea.  Famous people are no different than any other human and will age and change over time just like every other human that has ever lived.  Due to human nature they will grow wrinkled and grey and there is nothing to prevent it.  This same idea is found in The Picture of Dorian Grey.  In the story, Dorian holds himself up to the exact same unattainable standards that many people hold themselves up to today.  He absolutely refuses to let himself show any signs of aging, and is willing to give away anything for eternal youth.  Not only does he defy the laws of human nature and gravity, but he does so by magic, just like the magazine models do with the computer programs.  Honestly, I cannot see how this can be healthy.  To constantly be aiming to put people down in such a way that they feel like they are not enough because of these physically and impossible standards is such a  monstrous thing to do.  Because these standards are in no way humanly possible, they make it seem as if the things that will inevitably happen to us anyways is evil.  Everyone at some point is going to become grey haired, wrinkled and put on weight simply because that is what happens to us as people.  Why should be put others down for things that should normally happen to us?

What Does the Burqa Really Symbolize

The burqa in today's society is often viewed as something bad, and as a form of oppression for women.  However to some women in society who have experienced having to wear the burqa, it can take various different meanings for them rather than just a way for their husbands to have power over them.  In the Middle Eastern Society women are forced to wear burqas to cover themselves with completely because of the Taliban law.  This allows a way for men to be able to have control over their wives, because nobody is able to see the women under the burqas.  The burqa can be a way for women to hide and be forgotten about if they cannot be seen.  Often times it presents the submissiveness and imprisonment of a wife to her husband as seen in A Thousand Splendid Suns.  Neither Mariam nor Laila had to wear a burqa until they married Rasheed, and when they agreed (or were rather forced) to put it on, they were then under Rasheed's complete control and were hidden away from the rest of society.  On the other hand however, a burqa can simply just be form of modesty that women use for a religious purpose.  In my life, knowing a few women who have left their abusive husbands in the Middle East and came to America, some of them still chose to wear their burqas even though they were no longer forced to.  They felt that by wearing the burqa even after they did not have to still allowed them to keep their standard of modesty.  They saw their head coverings as not much else other than their religious dress code.  In fact, they enjoyed wearing it because it also allowed them to keep a part of their culture and faith with them after they had to leave.  Since the burqa can clearly have two totally opposite np meanings, it leave the question to society as to whether or not a woman wearing a burqa is really a bad thing that oppresses them or if it is something that a Muslim woman wears for comfort and modesty.  Personally, I fell that it will always be somewhat oppressive no matter what meaning it has to the person who is wearing it.  I commend people who keep modesty as a valued standard in their life, as it is also a valued standard in my life.  However, I also believe that one should embrace their body and not feel the need to hide it to that extreme to the whole world.  To me I feel that by completely concealing yourself to the rest of the world and hiding yourself from society, it would be difficult to embrace life to the fullest if you always shy away from parts of it.

A Woman in America

Many women in today’s modern, American society are able to say that they have gained much more equality over the centuries.  However, even though many American women are proud to have gained rights, it makes me wonder about other women in third world countries who have not been able to gain equality.  Since I have only really experienced growing up as a female in America where I do have rights and do not have to be afraid to speak what I feel or believe, I cannot help but think “How far have women really come throughout the entire world?”  I know that many third world countries still oppress women severely just because it has always been part of their culture or religion and they are not willing to change their ways.  For some reason they feel it is better to keep them from knowledge and expressing their opinion but refuse to see how much it hurts a society, and since women do not have any rights they cannot stand up for themselves without being retaliated against.  I know that in The Awakening and A Doll’s House, Edna and Nora are oppressed, but yet they are still able to take a stand and speak their minds without the fear of being assaulted or hurt.  Also, I know that especially Nora is kept from education and knowing anything that could possibly cause her stress, and although she does secretly know, she has to pretend to be oblivious to it to keep her husband happy.  Personally, although I cannot identify myself as a die hart feminist, after learning how far women in America have come and personally knowing women who have escaped their abusive husbands in Afghanistan, I do not feel that my life here in America as a young woman is really all that terrible.  I know that there is always room to grow and make improvements, but I realize that at least I am able to go to school every day without a fear of acid being poured on my face while I sleep.  Additionally, having many relatives who have served in the military and seen the horrid things that happen to girls, I am always reminded to be grateful to have had the opportunity to grow up as a girl in America without nearly as many fears as those in third world countries.