Society & the Mental Health of Women

The gender roles placed on wo men argon far to a heavy(p)er extent hurtful than they seem. Women ar expected to digest mutual pillow slipistics whereas men ar expected to be agentic. Communal traits ar things that maintain virile relationships like being nurturing or compassionate, and polite. produceforce atomic number 18 generally expected to be self-assertive and competitive (White, pg 58). When these gender roles be violated familiarity tends to discriminate. In the work place, when a wo piece of music is especially assertive she is often referred to as a crab or masculine because others believe she is non very feminine but if a man were to do the same he would simply be seen as a go- fuck offter (White, pg 59).This is a Western indian lodge norm, and it obviously puts women at a sincere disadvantage originally, because in order for her to grasp success as defined by orderliness she must maintain relationships and not sacrifice them for advances in her c a rr. As a result, women hold overthrow positions, dont get paid as much(prenominal) as men, and dont get as m any(prenominal) promotions. This prejudice is the inwardness cause to psychic health problems for women, as well as an essential trait of western society.At every take aim of education, it has been proven that women make less than men (Judith, 52). Women are less seeming to call for for raises because they dont like to self-promote, and they overly dont want to fix any animosity among her and her supervisory program which would violate her role as a woman. As a result of these professional set dressings women tend to be in lower economic classes. Anyone with financial problems is at a higher risk for embossment, but women keep up lower paying jobs, so they are more liable (Judith, 52). Poverty unimpeachably bes a big part in the fracturement of depression, among other disorders. Not having nice money to eat is severe striving and not having enough money to campaign your children is twice as bad.One major(ip) problem in society that is mentally affecting our women is this last of thinness. There is an enormous amount of pressure placed on women to be attractive and thin by the media and the stick-thin models regularly gracing magazine covers. As a result, women are more likely to develop consume disorders. Anorexia, an eating disorder that involves forceful fasting, and Bulimia, which consists of binge eating followed by any compensatory behavior, are virtually nonexistent in men (White, pg 62).Both of these disorders guide on to undecomposed health problems but anorexia ultimately leads to destruction by starvation. It is thought that these disorders are caused by a perceived lack of secure in their lives which is balanced by these women having boast intercourse control over their looks. Discrimination against homely or overweight women is an unspoken prejudice. This epidemic of attaining physical perfection is actually an redundant and harmful setback for women.Women are more likely to seek therapy (Judith, 52). There is an over-diagnosis of women and an under-diagnosis of men. widely distributed discrimination towards women is that communal traits arent as valued as physical strength, which force out lead to depression. House work creates sniff out of never having leisure time, it provides no wound up reward and an isolation occurrenceor. Emphasis on physical style, torso image eating disorders, lack of control over appearance leads to depression. Gender roles, since women are expected to be communal their relationships privy lead to depression because there is more pressure on them to have good relationships, so when the relationships are unsuccessful, they tend to blame themselves.In the school text book victorious Sides Clashing Views in Gender, author Jacuelyn W. White discusses the heathen differences mingled with men and women. She argues that men and women live in entirely both separate worlds and likens the contrast relationship between they have to that of a difference between two culture. The requirements society places on this underlying womanly culture is the incumbrance cause of violence against women, much(prenominal) as rape sexual harassment and physical abuse (White, pg 58). Western society designates women into an objectified position.They are seen as objects of sexual obsession, and a reward of manly agentic interaction, but they are not seen as equal inside staminate culture. Oddly enough, within distaff culture, mainstream success is based on beauty, politeness and being conductors of social interaction. This is often the argue why the common saying is make that, if women ruled the world, war would no long-lived exist.In her book, Womens Lives, Judeth Bridges analyzes impaired female mental health. She points out that girls and women figure for 95 percent of cases of anorexia nervosa (Judith, 52). One to tetrad percent of all female adolescents and raw adults suffer from the disorder (Judith, 52). Women are two to three times more likely to experience depression over their lifetime. Women are also more likely to endeavour suicide. Anorexia nervosa, and Bulimia are diseases, but they put forward both be seen as the read result of personality disorders formed by women in reaction to societal confines. The influences these societal confines have on the mental health of women is undeniable, but these societal prejudices are also being combated by soakeds of presend-day(a) bring.The gunslingerine in cinema has come a long way since the origin of fritter away. It support be argued that this is a directly relative to societal changes. The performing arts have evolved from not allowing blacks, or women to perform, to having minorities in lead roles where they play everyman/woman characters. From the villainously empowering days of the Femme fatale, to the circulating(prenominal) science fiction role s in which women render the world without any male assistance, the female in cinema is on the border of equal empowerment.This is most true of those female celebrities who have established themselves as unfastened to play a broad frame of roles. Actresses like Angelina Jolie, Demi Moor and Sigourney Weaver play everything from action adventure shooterines to pregnant mothers. These women have contributed to the tradition of changing societal expectations of women finished film. One of the key films that plays on the cultural differences between men and women, while at the same time honestly depicts them is the film The exterminator, directed by James Cameron.The Terminator launched the career of, at the time, professional body builder and current governor Arnold Schwarzenegger but more importantly, it is the quintessential science-fiction film. A five- division-old woman, by the name of Sarah Connor is hunted complicate by a cybernetic killer, who has travelled back in time from the year 2029. In the future war between the Robots and humans, it is prophesied that Sarah Connor will give birth to the man who will save the human race.Thus, through her carrying out her motherly duty she becomes the hero of the film. The twist on societal norms resides in the fact that Sarah Connor is also heralded as a great military hero in the future. These are ideals very common of the feminist empowerment movement. Sarah maintains her social stipulation as a female, while at the same time, she embodies all of the agentic qualities necessary to be a heroic spend. though Connor is a soldier, she is also a woman who call for sleep with, and by nature she feels the urge to love and mother a child. In the offset printing of the film, Sarah Connor is sensitive and weak.As the film progresses, her character becomes more confident and assertive. The scene where Reese, her protector and love interest, teaches her how to make a shrill bomb from household products is an e xample of her acquire the competitive tactics of men, and the point of her initial crossover into the role of the great soldier she is destined to become. Connor in essence is presented as the last hope for the human race. It is the angulate relationship between the Terminator, Connor and Reese that makes the most fundamental statement with regards to the contrast between male and female culture.Reese initially is sent back to protect Sarah Connor. Unbeknownst to either of them, he will eventually become the biologic father of the baby he is sent to protect. Reese is still a mortal, and continuously reminded of this fact when confronting the Terminator. Sarah Connor is mortal, but she is also a great war hero fulfilling a prophecy. Sarah Connors character is empowered in this film and Reese is actually effeminized by this, I mean that Reese is actually the weaker of the two.In the greatest value of manliness against the ultimate destroying machine, Connor manages to surpass thi s bench mark and in the end, she is the one who kills the Terminator. Whereas Reese, her supposed male protector, dies and fails where Sarah succeeds. In the end, the only purpose he served was to produce offspring. The man and the woman bedevil roles in this way, and an ironic yet empowering center is relayed to the audience. Through film, the ideal that men and women are equal becomes more than just a neglected notion.In sum, societal expectations can be identified as the core cause to mental health problems in most women. This can be seen in their inclination towards eating disorders, depression, and suicide attempts. Though some of these ideals are being combated, women are still dying trying to able into size zeros they are forming social foreboding disorders that result in the increase of flexible surgery, excessively more expensive snappy retail, and overall unrealistic expectations applied to women. Advancements in mental health for women starts with adjustments to the prevalent ideals inherent in western society.Work CitedBelton, John. American Cinema/American Culture. New York The partnership forPublic Broadcasting and New York shopping mall for Visual History, 1994.Bridges, Judith, and Claire A. Etaugh. Womens Lives. Boston, MA Pearson Education,Inc., 2006. 51-53.Russ, Joanna. Frontiers A daybook of Women Studies Vol. 4, No. 2 (Summer, 1979), p.71.Sociology of motherhood. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 9 Jan 2007, 1129 UTC.Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 23 Apr 2007.White, Jacquelyn W. Taking Sides. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Dubuque McGraw-Hills Company,2007. 1-396.