Writing Prompt For Women: What Does The World Tell You About Who And How To Be?

Expanding on the Be A Lady They Said video

Photo by Molly Belle on Unsplash

A major component of patriarchal society is entrenched genderized boxes — this is what makes a real man and this is what a real woman is like. Messaging like this isn’t just restrictive, it’s very often contradictory, making it all the more destructive and maddening.

A new 3-minute video (Be a Lady They Said from Paul McLean on Vimeo) illustrates the absurd and harmful nature of these societal narratives for women:

“Don’t be too fat. Don’t be too thin. Eat up. Slim down. Stop eating so much. Don’t eat too fast. Order a salad. Don’t eat carbs. You need to lose weight. Go on a diet. God, you look like a skeleton. Why don’t you just eat? You look sick. Eat a burger. Men like women with some meat on their bones. Be light. Be little. Be petite. Be feminine.”

This must-see video shows just how much pressure women are under every day | IMAGE.ie

Writing prompt: Tell us something about your own personal experience with messaging around how to be a woman — the things that have frustrated you, hurt…