This post was first published on Chocolates Mints in a Jar – Thanks to Jessy'z for inviting me over:)
The Social Conditioning of Women
Introduction by Jessy'z
Today is International Women’s day. And it marks the one hundredth year of this day being celebrated. So it is my pleasure and delight to introduce you to today’s writer, Marwa Rakha. I reviewed her book The Poison Tree back in 2008 and even though I didn’t agree with all of the book I thought it was a good read. Marwa is passionate and fearless with her opinions and if you have ever seen her speak on TV you will understand what I mean. Her topic of choice is one I believe is extremely important.
Social conditioning as defined by wikipedia is the sociological process of training individuals in a society to act or respond in a manner generally approved by the society in general and peer groups within society.
It takes time for social conditioning to happen and breaking free from it takes even more time, because sometimes it is quite difficult to realize that we’ve been conditioned to accept something or not instead of genuinely feeling that way towards it.
What have you become?
By Marwa Rakha
I am an angry person! My best articles were triggered by anger and any of my achievements was an angry reaction towards one form of injustice or the other.
I have been angry at men, society, women, publishers, censorship, the government, and injustice in general. Today I am going to share with you more anger! My dear women, you have been brainwashed and reformatted into abandoning true womanhood. You have been socially conditioned to become freaks!
Let me ask you some questions to drive my point through:
- Why do you wear high heels?
- Why do you wear corsets?
- Why do you wear bras?
- Why do you wear makeup?
- How fashionable is your wardrobe?
- How comfortable is your wardrobe?
- How do you feel about grey hair?
- How do you feel about those circles under your eyes?
- How do you feel about those fine lines around your mouth?
- How do you feel about your weight, your figure, your breasts, your thighs, your tummy, and your skin?
- How do you feel about those stretch marks?
- How do you feel about your body during pregnancy and after birth?
- How do you feel about sex, nudity, sensuality, and breastfeeding?
- Would you be ashamed to touch yourself? Would you be ashamed to look at the naked version of you in the mirror?
- Would you be ashamed to breastfeed in public?
- Would you choose having a c-section as opposed to a natural vaginal delivery?
- Would you insist on taking drugs and pain-killers in labor?
- Do you consider sleeping in the same bed with your baby lack of discipline?
- Do you consider wearing your baby around in a carrier or a sling lack of discipline?
- Do you think crying babies should be left to soothe themselves?
Those are just a few questions that might get you wondering how “society”, “social values”, and “men” have erased your true essence.
Many of us have rejected our own natural unique beauty to fit some frame that was predesigned by some guy!
A guy is the reason why you are uncomfortable in your own skin!
A guy made you wear heels and damage your posture!
A guy made you wear corsets and damage your pelvic bones!
A guy made you wear bras to make your breasts bigger or smaller or firmer or whatever shape he fancies!
A guy made you forget that your breasts are simply fatty protrusions designed to nurture your babies!
A guy forced his colors and lines on your wardrobe regardless of how comfortable you are wearing those clothes or how practical they are to fit your lifestyle!
A guy convinced you that aging is a sign to decay! Instead of embracing your years of wisdom and experience you rejected them fiercely and sought surgeons and creams to turn back time!
A guy convinced you that beauty is only for the young when nothing is sexier and more appealing than a woman who is proud of her scars and wrinkles for they each tell a story of how strong she is!
A guy convinced you that those lilac ribbons created by the miracle of pregnancy are ugly!
A guy convinced you that your body is not good enough or safe enough or strong enough to deliver your child safely into the world! You need medical intervention, drugs, and emergency procedures!
A guy filled you up with shame and disgust of your femininity!
A guy denied you to love and make love to yourself!
A guy put a damper on your instincts and turned motherhood into a tiresome experience for you!
Dear woman, you have been stripped off your exceptional powers! Please, embrace your natural beauty, body, and curves … remember that you are unique and special … remember that your breasts are a miracle, that your monthly period is a miracle, that your power to conceive is a miracle, that your power to labor and deliver is a miracle, and that your ability to sustain a baby for two years on lactation is a miracle. Surrender to your primal self and do not smother your powerful instincts. There was a time when society worshiped women because of their mystery … then came a time when men feared that mysterious power and resented it … and now we live in a time when women let go of their feminism and turned into dummies and freaks.
If a mama monkey or a mama bear or a mama cat could talk, she would show you the striking contrast between who you should have been and what you have become.
A feminist is not a woman who hates men; a feminist is a woman who loves and enjoys being a woman! Happy women’s day!
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