Women's Self-Confidence

1298 Words6 Pages

Confidence is the idea of having firm trust in something or someone. Our generation of women struggle heavily with this concept. The female race is dependent upon this ‘image’ of perfection and her own self-worth often comes from her view of herself often influenced by men and the media.
Women have grown up with idea that their worth is entirely in the hands of how they look (Newsom et al. n.p.). For generations they have been expected to look a certain way for the “pleasure” of others. Female’s self-confidence is destroyed due to the idea that individuality is wrong. “American’s youth- tired of trying to change the world- passed into a phase of trying to change ourselves” (Stephenson 16-31). The women of our generation are their own biggest …show more content…

“Girls brought up to think boys are better will leave adolescence with low self- esteem and little faith in their abilities” (Rubinowski F1). When constantly being compared to a man, a woman starts to feel like she is nothing more than inferior. The idea of ‘equal playing field’ is utterly demolished. When being compared with men, the female race starts to feel as if they shouldn’t be promoted, does worse on tests, and underestimates what she can do (Shipman n.p.). The thought process of a women starts to be altered. A study proves, “when a boy can’t solve a math problem, he blames the problem or the subject. When a girl can’t solve a problem, she blames herself” (Rubinowski F1). If a woman stopped being compared to others she may find the confidence she needs in order to thrive. In 42 different countries a girl was more likely to report being “too fat” than a man would (Engeln 28). This is yet another account of the female population simply letting thoughts take control. “As our bodies change we become more self-conscious and boys tend to feel stronger” (Rubinowski F1). A woman’s mind is what causes this line between male and female to become more distinct. Because women think the way they do, comparing a female to a male can often be easy but can come off quite aggressive. Males and females are different but a woman often feels lesser because they let themselves think too much. This is affecting …show more content…

This ruins female’s own idea of individuality, and in turn, self-worth and confidence. “Media is the message and the messenger” (Newsom n.p.). In Beauty Sick, Engeln states “Girls today grow up knowing not just that prettiness is required of women, but that the standard for beauty is near perfection” (Engeln 5). Media’s women are often portrayed as skinny, tall, pretty, and confident. The media’s images simply reinforce the doubts women start to have about their bodies (Rubinowski F1). When women see the rest of society looking a certain way and obtaining fame, a female starts to want that; however, they often forget how frequently photoshop, makeup, and plastic surgery is used in order to reach that point. Perfection may be attainable, but at the cost of these things and one’s own individuality. It is proven that the biggest contributors to criticism is visually driven cultural normal and media (Jacques n.p.). This idea of necessary flawlessness is driving even the younger generations into a yearn to change themselves to look like others. 28% of 5-year-olds wanted their bodies to look like a movie or tv star (Engeln 3). These young women are growing up in a society that destroys the idea of uniqueness. A study of 2,000 women in the U.K. stated that they criticized themselves 8 times a day for being too fat, having hair that was a mess, a big belly, wishing were photogenic like other women in the

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