The pressure on women to conform to established beauty standards fuels an estimated $532 billion annual ‘extraction economy,’ operating on the premise that a substantial segment of the population is inherently deficient. Consequences for non-conformity span from social ostracization to physical violence.
The inclination toward submission, frequently evidenced by a preference for authoritarian figures, is often attributed to an underlying apprehension of external control or domination, a dynamic observed to facilitate the ascent of strongmen.
Half of men are unable to identify the clitoris on an anatomical diagram, which highlights a culture that values male pleasure above female existence and a legal system that trusts men to control women’s bodies but doesn’t trust women to report their own pleasure.
Women have been carrying the weight of unpaid labor and stolen opportunities for generations, while men have been losing unearned advantages and struggling to adapt to a more equitable system.
Women are under no obligation to look pretty, and it’s time to challenge the oppressive standards that have been imposed on them for centuries, and create a world where they are valued for who they are, not how they look.
By Naomi Cherone There have been significant inroads made by women trailblazers in American history—from the colonial…