Our Own Kind of Reservation

One of the best things about reading the Diary of a Part Time Indian was that it definitely does not sugarcoat or hide the fact that there is blatant racism out in the world affect Junior and his people. On their reservation, they constantly struggle from the racism and oppression that put them on the reservation. On the reservation they are held back by so many boundaries, the boundaries being money, education and freedom. We know how Junior and his family suffers. But how do we suffer? The point of this blog entry today was to talk about how I suffer in my own reservation as a person. But I wanted to talk a bit differently and talk about the reservation for females, and how females are suffering on their own reservation (this is a metaphor don't freak out).

So, how exactly do females suffer on their own metaphorically speaking reservation? It's actually quite simple. No matter what skin color the woman is she still does not have the advantages that men have. The women who have it even worse are women of a different race other than white. Many females, in this day are told from when they were born to "act like a lady". Why are little girls supposed to act a certain way? They are just little kids. Another common saying heard is "boys will be boys". I know that many girls have heard this saying as a response to a boy doing something they did not like to them. Girls are practically thought from a very young age that boys can do these bad things to them because they're boys. But they can't make mistakes because they have to act like a lady. This is not right!!!

Another thing. Men are more likely to get a job than women. Another boundary set up by this "female" reservation is that women should not follow their dreams. Men are more likely to get jobs than women. A recent study done at auditions for a symphony orchestra proved this to be true. People auditioning were hidden behind a wall so the people listening to their auditions (men) would not know who it would be. More women were hired as a result. And what was more was that once a carpet was placed down so that the sound of heels clacking on the floor were silenced, even more women were hired. But here's the thing-women are still going to follow their dreams (a really good thing).

The final boundary in this terrible reservation is the boundary that women will never be able to beat these boundaries. Now of course the point of this blog entry is to talk about the boundaries that are set up. This is a boundary. But all of these boundaries are going to go away one day soon. Women are rising up strong and fierce, ready to live their dreams and live their lives. This reservation won't be around for long!