The Painful Imprisonment of Being a Girl
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Being a girl is almost as beautiful as it is tragic. The second you hit age five, you start dreaming. You dream of being a ballerina or an astronaut, maybe even a cowgirl.
As time goes on, people tell you that you can do anything you want. You can be anything you want. Lies. Being a girl makes people think you cannot do things, not because you lack the ability, but simply because you are a girl. When the teacher calls on someone to help put the chairs away, they do not think to ask the girls for help. Why? It’s because boys are presumed to be the ‘strongest’. Even if you are ten times stronger than the boys or ‘men,’ they still have a picture painted in their head of you being weak. When girls have a mood change, the boys ask, “Is it that time of the month?”. Heaven forbid you appear to be in a different mood than what they are used to.
Your parents will continue to try their best to protect you from the world's cruelty, but can you play the role of Rapunzel your entire life? When we were young, we watched princess movies and dreamt of princes and perfect weddings but our fantasies did not last forever because they were never meant to be lived. They were created to help us dream.
As you get older, the world goes on. It doesn't get easier, but it goes on. It goes on when you feel pain, sorrow, and even grief. One day you wake up, and then BAAM! You are ten years old. Girls start crushing on boys and getting boyfriends. Boys start creating labels for girls, saying things like, “She’s too ugly,” or “No she’s just fat”. Then you are defined by what they say.
I am not really sure when everything starts. When do your parents start telling you that your skirt or dress is too short, because they do not want boys to ‘get the wrong idea?’. When is the dress code strictly enforced so you don't wear anything ‘too revealing?’.
One day when you wake up like you usually do, you’ll be turning 14. Your mom will start to get emotional. “My baby is growing up so fast!”. Then you'll have a phone and begin preoccupying yourself with social media. People will say mean things about you online or make up far-from-the- truth rumours. Soon you will start to notice how boys act out. You will wonder why you ever wanted a boyfriend or what happened to the princes you saw in kids' movies growing up. Those men were written to give us expectations, while the men in front of us were real. That is why we were disappointed because our expectations were different from reality. Still, we did not realize that these real boys were nothing like the princes we dreamed about when we were children because, years ago, we were unaware of how different our dreams and realities were. It was the time in our lives when we were the most gullible, hopeful and innocent.
Growing up with people saying you cannot do things: “Because I said so” or: “Maybe when you’re older” can cause you to change. You might sneak out or start dressing differently, because you have been trapped for too long. After you are finally free, that's when the comments start blowing in, “I miss when you were a baby, what happened?”. That’s a good question. What happened to you? What happened to me? Everything happened, but at the same time, nothing happened. That’s the problem.
People have a habit of forgetting that there is so much more to women than their appearances or bodies. Women are smart. They have dreams and ideas. So why should a woman be treated any differently than a man? Why should they have to cover up their shoulders as children while they are learning in school? With everything being out in the open, all said on paper, how do you stop feeling imprisoned as a girl or woman? Is there even a way of finding out? Is there a way to cry for help without crying? Is there a way to cry without having your feelings invalidated by the world?
As a woman, the life you lead is unfairly and entirely different than a man's. For that reason alone, although it shouldn't be the case, we must be careful. We must consider what we wear and how we wear it. We must cover our drinks at parties and clubs and always be aware of our surroundings. There are so many unspoken things that are included in the agreement of being a woman, but you don't learn about them until later. It is not a phase. It is not a luxury or a paradise. It is an imprisonment.
by Reece Wright
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