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KesslynWard
MrsMcGovern
EnglishFoundationsI
April22,2016
TheUncrackableGlassCeiling
Theworldweknowandthecountrywelearnedtolovehaveusfooled.Growingupinaworld
wherewomenaretreateddifferentlyislikesurvivinginanongoinghurricaneofdiscrimination.Women
fightfortherighttoparticipateinactivitiesthatmanyprivilegedmaleAmericansoverlook.Asamatter
offact,manywomenintoday'ssocietyarestilllivingunderpatriarchalrule.Thoughsomebelievethat
womenandmenareequal,therealityisthatwomenaroundtheworldstruggledailyfacingissuescaused
bydiscrimination.Theintolerancetowardswomeninreachingcongruencewithmenpreventsmany
femalesfromadvancingincivilization.Thesurvivalofapatriarchalsocietyisadailystruggletoendure
thesociety'soutlookonwomen.Despiteantidiscriminationlaws,womenarecontinuetobeoppressedby
thepatriarchalsocietyandstruggletobreaktheglassceiling.
Theglassceilingisatermusedtorefertoabarrieragainstwomeninsocietyinreachingparity
withmen.SincetheWomensRightsMovements,womenhavepushedforequalopportunities,although
itwasnevergiventothem.Inthe1960sand70s,thebigconcernforequalitybrokeheadlinesalloverthe
UnitedStates.TheEqualPayAmendmentwasmadeinorderforwomentoreceivethesamepayasmen
inthesamecareer.Thelawwaspassedin1963,althoughlawshavebeenenforcedtheconceptofequal
paycontinuallydiffersfrommentowomen.Theideathatwomenarebeingpaidthesameissimplyfalse.
Equalistsbelievethatmenandwomenarealreadyequalandoverlookthetopicthatunequalpayisstill
presentintodayssociety.Apatriarchalsocietyisahierarchycontrolledbymediasperceptionof
women,inthisperceptionwheremenareseenassuperiortowomen.Inorderforanegalitariansocietyto
exist,menandwomenmustreachparitywithoneanother.Womencontinuetotreatthemselvesasifthey

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areinferiortomen.Thiscreatesagenerationofwomenwhoaredehumanizedbyapatriarchy.TheUnited
Statesisknownforbeingaunifiedcountry,sowhyisitthatwearestilllivinginthoseconditionsofa
patriarchy.BarbaraJ.Berg,PhDahistorianandfeministauthorfeaturedin
MissRepresentation,
asserted
thata,PatriarchyreallyisAmericasdefaultsetting,wheremenholdthepositionofprivilegeandpower
andwherewomen,veryoften,aretreatedassecondclasscitizens.
(MissRepresentation)
Thepatriarchy
systemlimitswomenbreakingbarriers.Theprivilegetoholdpowerisarightwomenhavebeenfighting
forsincethebeginningoftime.Barrierssuchastheglassceiling,createsadivideinAmericanpolitics
wheremenhavebeenmakingdecisionsonwomenissuessuchasabortion.Alotoftheunequal
representationhastodowithgenderrolesinfluencingfemalestereotypesandresultsinenforcingunfair
representationingovernment.Genderrolesareembeddedintotodayssociety.Genderrolesorsocietal
normsdecidewhatisandisntacceptableforeachsex.Societalnormsreinforcesstereotypesforboth
menandwomen.Thestereotypeforwomenmakeitsotheyreseenasweaker,whereasleadingtoless
womenbeinghired.
Thepositionofpowerinsocietyisinfluencedbymaledominance.Womensattempttopossestop
positionisseenasathreattomiddleclassAmerica.Womenarebeingoppressedbysocietymajorityin
placesofwork.Manywomenarediscriminatedagainstanddiscouraged.JenniferLawlessmentionedin
MissRepresentation,theDirectoroftheWomen&PoliticsInstituteissues,Withoutwomenincongress
wejustcantreallyhavedemocraticlegitimacy.(MissRepresentation)Womenaren'trepresented
properlyingovernment.IntheUnitedStates,werarelyrecognizesfemalerepresentationingovernment
thisleavesfemaleswithlittletonosayinissuesthatfaceourcountry.Importantwomeninsocietysuch
asHillaryClintonhavebeenstereotypedandobjectifiedforcenturiesdisablingthemtobeabletomake
stridesinsociety.Asaresultofthiswomenintheworkplacewillbelesslikelytowanttobethereinthe
firstplace,creatingasocietywherewomenrelyontheirouterbeautyinsteadoftheirselfworth.Elaine
Neuenfeldt,the
SecretaryforWomeninChurchandSocietyandDepartmentforTheologyandPublic

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Witness,statesthatapatriarchyis,
Therigidsocialandculturalmodelsandgenderrolesassignedto
womenlimittheiraccesstopowerandsituatethemastheunderprivilegedinthesocialdivisionof
labour.(ElaineNeuenfeldt2)ThesocialalignmentoftheUnitedStateslimitsthepowergrantedto
womenandtheonesencouragedtoarebeingputatadisadvantage.
Themediacontributestotheselfannihilationofthenextgenerationtocome.Althoughmany
resistwomenjoiningtheworkplacewomen,suchasSandraDayOConnor,Therewasanimportant
influenceofwomensandAmericanhistory.ShewasthefirstwomentoserveintheSupremeCourt.
OConnorwasknownforhermeticulousviewsandshapingtheplatformforwomenhopingtoget
involvedinpoliticsandlaw.Herstrugglesasafemalerolemodelhasshapedtheworkplaceasweknow
ittoday.Althoughmanyarefacedwithconstantattackwomenfacebymenintheworkforceandthe
media,manywomenareabletoovercomethisbarrierandfindacrackinthisglassceiling.Theimpactof
womenhaveontheindustrycanbefacedinvarietiesofgenres,howevertheystillcontinuetobeseenas
athreatratherthanguidetounderstandingthefutureofoursociety.Althoughimportantwomenin
politicsandsocietysuchasSandraDayOConnor,havebrokenbarriers,womencontinuetobeopressed.
Womenhaveanunfairlyrepresentedingovernmenteventhoughveryfewwereabletobesuccessful
(The
100MostInfluentialWomenofAllTime
)
.
Womenmakeupabout51%oftheUnitedStatesbutstillonly
17%ofCongressmembersarefemales.
(MissRepresentation)
Womenhavelittletonorepresentationin
governmentandespeciallyCongress.Manydisagree,thatwomenarepaidequallyduetolawsenforced,
butthesadtruthisthateventhoughlawshavebeenplacedtopreventdiscriminationamongthegenders,
theselawsarenotbarriersforfollowingsuchrules.Manywomensupposedlylacktheexperienceof
menandaredeniedtopgovernmentandCEOpositions.Femaleattempttomakestridesinsocietybutare
shotdownwiththetruththatsexismisplaysapartinourcountrytoday.Genderrolesintheworkplace
havesetstereotypeforwomenanddiscouragestheminworkingwithmalecoworkerwhotreatthemasif
theyareinferiortothem.Workingwomenarealsoaffectedbythemediaperceptiononhowtheywantto

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showtheconsumergenderroles.Thepatriarchalsocietywillcontinuetoremaininthemidstofthissocial
systemunlessarealizationisforthisfamiliarizationissetforworkingwomenwillingtobreakthrough
thisunbreakableglassceiling.Thesurvivalofconstantoppressionofwomenhavebeenthebarrierfor
womentobreakthrough,underminingwomenemployedinsociety.
Themediaistheinfluenceofthepatriarchy.Themediainfluencesmentotreatwomenasifthey
areworthless.Thisinspectshasmuchtodowiththerecurringoppressionofwomeninapatriarchal
society.Themediasetsupgenderstereotypesinawaywherethemaleconsumerwouldliketosee
womenasoversexualizedobjects.Inthe21stcentury,themaleaudienceistheobjectiveofthemedia.
Mediaplaysabigpartinthepreservationofthepatriarchalsocietyanddeterminesthefutureofour
civilization.Themediaiscontrolledbymenandeventhoughtheendeavorismadetochangetheunequal
societiesallacrosstheworld.CarolineHeldmananAssociateProfessoratOccidentalCollegein
Miss
Representation
explainsthat,Selfobjectificationhasbecomeanationepidemic,anationalproblem.
(MissRepresentation)
Womensupposedlyseenasrolemodelshavebecomefamousbysexualizating
themselvestobeenseenbythemaleviewer.Womenseeninmediaarestereotypedandobjectified,
makingitdifficultforwomentomakeadvancesintheworkplace.Thisisthefirsttimemediahasdictated
whatissociallyacceptable.
(MissRepresentation)

Womeninadsdisplayedthroughoutthemediaportray
womenassextoysandareoftentreatedassuch.Mediahypnotisesitsaudienceandreinforcesgender
rolesinthemindsofthe21stcenturyAmerica.ForexamplerolesmodelssuchasKimKardashian
objectifythemselvesinordertoachievepopulationandfame,teachingthenextgenerationdehumanizing
characteristics.AstudydonebyGeenaDavisInstituteshowedthatwomenarealmostfourtimesaslikely
asmalestobeshowninsexyattireontelevisionandmovies.(GeenaDavisInstitute)Womenaremuch
moreacceptedinsocialnetworkingtobeshownasundressed,makingitmoreacceptedbytheyounger
generations.MencontrolthebillboardsandadsallovertheUnitedStates,meaningthattheycontrolwhat
weshouldandshouldnthaveaccessto,decidingforuswhatweshouldbeexposedto.In
Filter

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Bubbles
byEliPariserinTedTalksthe
chiefexecutiveofUpworthyinformsonthedangersoffilter
bubbles.
Filterbubblesiswherethemediashelterswhatchangeandpreventignorancebetweengenders.
Thesurvivalofgendersdependsontheamountofinformationobtainedbythefuturegeneration.
(Filter
Bubbles)
Themedialimitstoonlyonlywhatispleasingtothepublic'seye.Dismantlingpatriarchy,would
requireachangeintheideologyofthemedia.Women'srolesareembeddedinthesociety,where
inequalityiscustomaryduetotherepetitionofdiscriminationandsexualizationwithinmedia.
Thekeytosurvivalhasmanydifferentmeaningtomanydifferentpeople.Survivalofopression
seemstobeacommonthemeandourcultureseemstofallshortonattemptingtobecomeparalleltomen
insociety.Thesurvivalofoppressionofapatriarchyenduresunderthepowerofthemediaandwomen
influencesweallowtohaveinsociety.Theacceptanceofasexinvolvestheacceptancesintosociety
today,bygivingwomenanequalsenseofempowermentmenreceive.Ifthishappenswomenwillbe
moremotivatedtobeanactivememberandrespectablememberofourcommunity.Importantwomenin
historylookingforequalopportunitiesareabletocomeintermswiththedisadvantagesfaced.
Objectificationisoverlookedandmadecustomaryinoursystemofsocialclasses,wherethemedia
preventsandcharacterizesthevaluesanddispositionandinterpretshowapatriarchalsocietyissupposeto
lookandfeellike.Wewerebuiltbythebelievethateveryonehasequalopportunity.Butstillpeople
everydayhavetofightfortheirbornrights.Wearetheworldsempireandstillmanypeoplefighttohave
equalrepresentationinthemediaandinsociety.Weareholdingbackwhenwecouldbemovingtowards
abetterfuturefullofintegrityofyoungwomenandequalopportunitiesforall.Thisiswhatthereal
AmericanDreamshouldlooklike.

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Workcited

Golden,Kristen,andBarbaraFindlen.RemarkableWomenoftheTwentiethCentury:100
PortraitsofAchievement.NewYork:Friedman/FairfaxinAssociationwithCorbis,1998.Print.
Kuiper,Kathleen.The100MostInfluentialWomenofAllTime.NewYork,NY:Britannica
EducationalPub.,2010.Print.
MissRepresentation.Dir.JenniferSiebelNewsom.Perf.JenniferSiebelNewsom.2011.Miss
Representation.TheRepresentationProject,20Jan.2011.Web.3May2016.
Neuenfeldt,Elaine."IdentifyingAndDismantlingPatriarchyAndOtherSystemsOfOppression
OfWomen."InternationalReviewOfMission104.1(2015):18.MainFile.Web.2May2016.
Pariser,Eli."BewareofOnlineFilterBubbles."
TedTalks
.TEDConferences,LLC,2011.
Web.31May2016.

"Women'sRightsandGenderSection(WRGS)."Women'sRightsandGenderSection(WRGS).
Ohchr,n.d.Web.06May2016.
"Women'sRightsMovements."GrolierMultimediaEncyclopedia.GrolierOnline,2014.Web.1
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