Let’s picture a world where everyone wears the same exact outfit from the clothing to the shoes to the accessories. Let’s picture this world where everyone has the same length hair. You get to keep your own hair and eye color, but everything else is dictated by some random and mysterious committee.
Doesn’t it seem rather gray and boring?
Okay, that’s an extreme world, and that probably won’t ever be a realistic world. However, I feel like that’s the only way for women and men to be treated the same. Generations of tradition would have to be erased ,and choices for all intents and purposes would be non-existent.
As a woman, I appreciate the struggle women had to go through for me to be able to vote, attend school and even drive. However, the more rights we as women get, it seems the more we want. We want people to not look at us and make a decision. We want people to give us opportunities despite our sex.
And that’s all well and good to want it, but it’s not going to happen. The reason I know this is because I, as a female, acknowledge the fact that our sex cannot behave the way a male does. And I don’t want to act like a man.
There are things about being a woman that I love. For example,  I love devouring my magazines for new hair and make-up tips or spending time on the couch with my roommate talking about boys, school and life. I love wearing dresses and heels. I love feeling feminine, just as much as I’m sure that men enjoy being manly.
Why does it seem people are scared of this division? It’s not discriminatory to think men are stronger because it’s true. Don’t believe me? Why is it that most famous athletes are men? Why is that more men go into construction? Women, on the other hand, are more nurturing, which explains why more women are teachers, day-care workers and nurses. Sure, I’ll admit there are some women who are better in areas men generally dominate. Those people should have the opportunity to excel in that area. And the reverse is absolutely true for men, too.
I just don’t think we as a society should get so caught up in the fear of not being equal. We never will be equal because neither sex as a whole is going to become more like the other. What we need to realize is we should embrace these differences because in the long run, understanding them will be much more productive than ignoring their existence.
Gender roles still play an important part in today’s society and family life. Psychologists often say mothers and fathers draw the clear lines between the two genders and act as models.
The lack of these lines can cause confusion among young children when they begin to interact with people outside of their family.
There are many different advantages to these gender roles. For example, it becomes easier after marriage if certain chores are assumed. This causes more structure and less fights.  There’s a reason these gender roles have been around, and it makes things run more smoothly to follow tradition.
So, ladies, embrace your femine side because it’s what makes you who you are, and we should never try  to be more like men.
Julia Pendley is the news editor of the Reflector. She can be contacted at [email protected].