More Than a Girl
I am a girl, living in a society where being
told I’m inferior to the dominant male gender
isn’t an isolated remark but rather an everyday
instance I’ve learned to simply put up with.
I am a girl, loathing the image I see in the
mirror. “Your body is beautiful” people say
but how am I supposed to believe them when
the media regularly praises stick-thin models
for having the “ideal female figure.”
I am a girl, browsing through pamphlets to seek out
my dream college even though I know that no matter
how credible my grades are, the likelihood of equal
pay in the workforce is implausible.
I am a girl, watching CNN in utmost horror as,
on November 11th, the prospect of electing our
country’s first female president is crushed by a
man who demonstrates chauvinism every time
he opens his mouth.
I am a girl, beginning to appreciate the value
my voice bestows. No longer will I let sexism
hinder me from embracing the Constitution’s First
Amendment, nor will I allow impractical societal
standards to dictate how I treat my body.
I am a girl, and I am taking a stand against every
stereotype associated with my gender. In spite of
faulty misconceptions, women are far from damsels
in distress; instead, we’re heroes, and we will not
stop fighting until equality prevails.
About the author: Julia Tannenbaum is a seventeen-year-old aspiring author who lives in West Hartford, Connecticut with her family. She discovered her love for writing in eighth grade, and since then has published multiple short works, including an article about the 2016 Presidential Election that was featured in the anthology, DEAR MR. PRESIDENT. When she isn’t writing, Tannenbaum enjoys hanging out with friends, keeping up with schoolwork, and dreaming about the day when she’ll see her work on the shelves of bookstores.
