On Saturday October 19, I attended a event called “Between the Door and the Street” in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. There were hundreds of women (and a couple of men) of all different ages, sitting on stoops of town houses wearing yellow scarves, discussing some of the largest issues women today face, unscripted. The event worked like this: people who had come to the event (like myself) walked around listening (not participating) to the groups of women and men speaking about whatever subjects came up in the discussion. I walked around for about an hour and a half, and while I was there I heard conversations concerning body image, slut shaming, how women are portrayed in the media, how mothers are supposed to balance being a mom and having a career, and Miley Cyrus at the VMAs. One woman explained her views on balancing being a mom and having a career; “There’s so many roles women are expected to play, that there’s barely enough room to have a career or do fun things without being judged for not spending all your time with your kid! ” I thought this was really interesting and I agree; if men were expected to spend as much time with their children as women, that would take so much pressure off of women, and leave them time to persue their careers and interests. The group discussing Miley Cyrus at the VMAs (Video Music Awards) said, “Stars mirror society. Hannah Montana held a image of what girls across America were supposed to be and now at the VMAs, Miley Cyrus mirrors the way society actually is.” This woman was saying that children in TV shows often display how children across the country are supposed to be, and all that Miley Cyrus did at the VMAs was bring reality to the audience, and show that pretending to be a “perfect” young woman on a TV show is different than who young women actually are. The last group I was able to listen to, was mostly discussing body image, and how technology was affecting the minds of young woman today; “I had no pictures of myself for 15 years, I was so self conscious. I realized it and the fact that I had created a better image for myself in my mind than in my photographs, I could only see my flaws.” After telling some personal stories, they started talking about how the issue of body image could start to get better, “Girls could have so much confidence if they stopped being shamed, and people started telling them that they were awesome and why” and ended the conversation on a positive note, “No matter what you think your flaws are, you are amazing, you have more good than bad.” The whole experience was so amazing and showed that if you can listen to what women have to say instead of ignoring them, you can learn a lot.
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