Even now, several years later and after many more accomplishments, I hear, "That's nice. So when are you going to send us more pictures of your daughter?" or, “When are you going to have another baby?”

I have been working since I can remember to counteract these issues. When I was in the first grade, a group of boys started shouting "Girls are dumb! Girls are dumb!" over and over again at the playground until every boy had joined in. I was appalled to note that not only did the teacher on duty do nothing, but that all of the girls just stood, transfixed, as if in some sort of trance! I was so mad.

I ran back into the building to tell my teacher, who was angry with ME for leaving the playground and immediately gave me work to do! My mother has always raised me to speak my mind, to be strong, and to follow my heart, but I think that was the defining moment that sparked the feminism that still flows through my veins just as strong, if not more so, to this day.

Besides the child-raising, and the caretaking, and the obvious job roles (nurse, teacher, secretary) that have all emphasized femininity during our lifetime (and those of ages before), I think that the role of sex is one of the biggest emphasizers today. We have two extremes: the male icon, who is supposed to have a healthy libido; and if he doesn't, poof, there's Viagra to help him out! Then we have the female icon, who is supposed to be sweet and pure until marriage, who is "tainted" if otherwise, and who has had to fight tooth and nail for contraceptive rights.

Some people even argue that giving them complete access to contraceptives causes women to have more sex! Oh, what would happen to the world if women had more sex? Yes, I know that women are probably more sexually liberated as a whole today than in the past (just watch any K-Y jelly commercial for evidence) but the standard still sticks that women are supposed to be pure or else they're whores or hoes or whatever else is used these days while guys are hot stuff when they sleep around, to the point where the appalling term "pimp" is now in fashion. With the human sex trafficking trade as the third highest profitable business on earth (next to arms and drugs) one might think that this term would be kept degrading and disgusting instead of one of endearment or accomplishment. 

Emphasized femininity can be found all across the globe in every country, and it's much more degrading or violent or with worse effects in some places than others, but you can bet that you don't even have to leave your house to experience it. Even if you think it's not there, it probably is, and if it really, really isn't, it's certainly on your TV or radio.