Women can do anything men can do!

‘Women can do anything men can do!’ Growing up, we’ve definitely heard this phrase a few times. The main goal of second wave feminism in the 70s and 80s centered around this slogan, in hopes of showing that women are able to excel at traditionally masculine roles in our society.

This resulted in strong female characters in our culture evolving into a typical depiction of a girl who doesn’t care about her looks, is emotionally tough, and values career accomplishments over personal ones. And while women with these attributes are of course valid, third wave feminists have been exploring the idea that women do not need to reject femininity in order to be perceived as strong or valuable. The problem is no longer just that women are limited by the gender roles imposed upon them, but that traditional male roles such as career success and stoicism are valued higher in society than traditionally female roles such as compassion and nurturing. In reality, the latter are great strengths and the undervaluing of feminine traits has led to women performing countless hours of unpaid labour, resulting in burnout and role strain that goes largely unnoticed and unappreciated by society.

In the traditional nuclear family, women disproportionately take on the role of ‘default parent’: the one who the child emotionally confides in, who is number one on the emergency contact list for school, books appointments, enrolls and takes the child to extracurricular activities, assists with homework, plans birthday parties, etc. Moreover, women tend to be the partner responsible for checking in on and buying gifts for extended family members, planning not only familial events such as birthday parties, but social events in the workplace as well. This means that a household in which both the mother and father are part of the workforce will end up with the woman performing a vastly unequal amount of labour that is not financially compensated for, or socially celebrated. Traditional mothers in Canada are largely overworked and underappreciated. Conversations highlighting these issues are key, as well as conversations around boundaries, and realistic goal setting which takes self care into account, are beneficial for all, but especially these women. Moreover, the rest of us can consciously work on expanding our definitions of strength, and femininity, in order to truly appreciate the displays of these that we see around us.

by Meher Kapoor '23 (Blog Subcommittee Member)