

I interviewed fellow senior and close friend of mine, Lexi Sorensen, from Oak Park High School on her thoughts on female representation in society. I discussed below what she has shared with me. On the right is an infographic she and I created for a project in our 11th-grade English class.
Question #1: Do you believe traditional gender roles still exist, and if so, to what extent do they impact your life?
Answer: Lexi believes that traditional gender roles do still exist. The way this is apparent in her life is that when she was a young child, her mom worked while her dad stayed home and people found that out of the ordinary since the wife has been known as the homemaker for several generations. Many people, mostly males, believe in the traditional homelife. When the dad is the one who takes care of the child, people often think it’s unusual and lazy for him not to work. When the mom has a job she’s viewed as neglecting her child.
Question #2: How do you navigate situations where you might be the only woman in a leadership position?
Answer: Lexi discusses the fact of how people expect women to be nurturing, motherly, and kind and when they are put in a leadership position they want to maintain that persona. If she raises her voice she’s viewed as hysterical, however if a man raises his voice its perceived normal. Having been a part of leadership roles herself, Lexi sees the difficulties in maintain social expectations.
Question #3: How do you address traditional gender expectations when raising children? (Future)
Answer: As Lexi does not currently have any children, she has ways she plans on addressing gender expectations when raising kids in the future. She’s able to gauge her values as she has a current job of taking care of kids. She believes it’s important to teach children there are no male or female roles and both parents raise them equally. Kids are very impressionable so they must be taught that both parents provide equal nurture and care. Regardless of gender, the significance of raising children stems from the efforts you put into your relationship with your child.
Question #4: Do you feel societal pressure to conform to certain feminine standards regarding appearance or behavior? If so, how and if not, why not?
Answer: Sorensen believes that all females feel some degree of social pressure to conform to certain feminine standards. She believes that many girls think they should act differently in front of boys, and make themselves seem dumber to be liked. They also have pressures to make their bodies appear a certain way, and social media has unfortunately shaped people’s view of themselves. Lexi sees the unfortunate impacts that social media has had on girls’ confidence.
Question #5: Do you believe media representation of women has improved in recent years? If so, how and if not, why?
Answer: Lexi believes that media representation of women has improved in some areas in the recent years. She states that girls have been supporting other girls more, however the same types of perception has not been occurring from boys. There will always be people that look down upon females in the media that have changed their appearance. Society needs a push towards a more kinder social media experience.
Question #6: What steps can be taken to achieve greater gender equality in society
Answer: In order to achieve greater gender equality in society, Lexi believes that changing the stigma and taking females out of the box they have been put in will help create a change. By teaching children that they can be whatever they want and that there are no pressures to be something based on your gender. Moreover, making sure that women feel just as heard and are receiving equal pay and rights over their bodies. Sorensen discusses how we can all work together to make the world more fair, but things will never be equal.