American Culture
American culture is full of mixed messages and conflicting ideas. Society is far from perfect, especially when it has unrealistic expectations for its teenage girls. In pop culture, it is deemed inappropriate to display androgynous behavior, the ability to act freely without worrying if their behavior is feminine or masculine, once an individual has matured through the childhood years. Research has shown that androgynous people are in fact the most well adjusted adults (Pipher 18). According to Mary Pipher, author of Reviving Ophelia, a former number one New York Times Bestseller, during early adolescence girls are expected to sacrifice the parts of themselves that our culture considers masculine. Society forces these girls into their true and false selves, and it is society that causes girls to discard their true selves and acquire false selves. This idea of obtaining a false self is extremely dangerous. Girls are obligated to "be attractive, be a lady, be unselfish and of service, make relationships work and be competent without complaint" (Pipher 39). This is also the time that honesty is neglected for the ability to be nice and easy-going. Society recognizes and rewards honestly, but at the same time, w
The idea of having a true and false self, as Pipher has suggested, is in fact feasible, but Pipher doesn't talk about what happens to a girl that beats the odds. It is very true that society has different expectations for men then for women, and it is also true that society forces women to act in certain manners that it deems appropriate in different times. In both of the examples that I have given, Pipher's thoughts are not completely accurate. Both Susanna and Anne are being forced to conform to society's expectations, but neither is willing to do so. Both girls are fighting in order to hold onto who they are. Society should not try to rob young girls of their own identity, but that is essentially what is happening. These girls do not have a problem with who they are, but society doesn't agree with their true selves. Something about these girls is telling society that these girls are harmful and cannot remain in society safely without assuming a false self. "What I meant was that now I was safe, now I was rally crazy..." (Kaysen 104). McLean is a refuge to the girls and they do not want to leave their safe place. Within the hospital's walls, the girls can behave freely and act as their true selves, as long as they do not agree to conform to society's mold. If one of these girls were to act freely outside of the hospital, she would not be accepted by society. She would, however, be expected to take on a false self in order to behave as a proper young lady, according to society's rules and values. It is important that these narratives be read in high school English classes throughout the country because during the teenage years, young girls begin to learn what it is that society expects from them. Naturally they will conform to society's mold, as it is all they know to do. But the high school girls should be given a choice. Since America is the land of the free, should our girls be able to act however they want? That would make sense, but it is simply not the case. As Pipher declares in Reviving Ophelia, girls are simply expected to sacrifice the parts of themselves that our culture considers masculine. If we do not let girls read this type of literature, then our society will be one in whic
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Approximate Word count = 1491
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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