The Circle of Life: A Woman's Unique Journey

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Recommended: Gender roles and its effect on society

The Circle of Life: A Woman’s Unique Journey

The year was 1952; the place was Emory University Hospital in Atlanta Georgia. After 35 hours of breathing, pushing and exhaustion a seven-pound baby is placed into the arms of a new mother. Moments before, the doctor had exclaimed, “ It’s a girl!” The second the mother heard the proclamation her mind began to wonder. Who will she be? Will she be smart? Will she be gentle? Will she be strong? Will she be proper? Will she be liked? Will she be beautiful? Will she be a wife? Will she be a mother? The mother looked into the eyes of her new daughter and felt, amidst the overwhelming joy, fear. Would her baby’s cohort be the one to spur on change? Will her opportunities forever be limited by her sex? Will she too be susceptible to everyday health issues that women endure? The mother took a breath, “ Her name is Emma.” She looked back into the eyes of the baby and thought; her life will be fraught with challenge and beauty. She will take it in stride and I will guide her as best I can. She will be a woman like any other but she will make a difference, no matter how small, in this world.

Years went by and the mother watched as her newborn turned into a little girl. She garbed her daughter in beautiful dresses and flowery tops. She put bows in her hair and taught her about kindness and what it was like to be a lady. As her daughter grew into a pre-teen they began to discuss the world around them. The mother read from the paper to Emma about Eleanor Roosevelt and her role as chair on the commissioning of the status of women (Yoder, 2013, 98). They watched movies with the glamorous Audrey Hepburn and talked about how she could be both feminine and strong (Diamond, 2005). Emma took it all in...

... middle of paper ...

...ext (Yoder, 2013, 120). Her life had indeed been fraught with challenge but from those challenges came strength and in that strength she had found beauty.

References

Abrams, L.S. (2003). Contextual variations in young women’s gender identity negotiations.

Psychology of Women Quarterly, 27, 64-74.

Calasanti, T.M., & Slevin, K.F. (2001). A gender lens on old age. Gender, social inequalities,

and aging (Pp. 13-28). New York: AltaMira.

Diamond, L.M. (2005). A new view of lesbian subtypes: Stable versus fluid identity trajectories

over an 8- year period. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 29, 119-128.

Shields, L., & Sommers, T. (1980). Older Women’s League. Retrieved from

http://www.owl-national.org/

Yoder, J.D. (2013). Changes Across the Life Course. Women and Gender Making a Difference

(4th Ed.) (Pp. 97-122, 279-280). New York: Sloan Publishing.

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