Shattering Shortcuts

Shattering Shortcuts

Imagine that you are the fastest car in the dealership. As you race the day’s hours away, you shine as bright as the sun after a long storm. You are built to run- built to travel as fast and as far as life allows. We are all born one of these cars, ready to take on any highway that looms before us. Perseverance and hard work is the fuel that propels us to our ultimate destination. As we progress through life, opportunity steadily builds, forming strong barriers- highway walls- all around us. We live and we make mistakes, but we learn from them and keep driving, pushing steadily forward. We have all the potential in the world, but it all comes down to one choice. Will we use the gifts we are born with to achieve everything for which we could dream? Or will we give it all away, veering off the highway on which we travel in exchange for a shortcut that materializes on the side of our road? Everyone is faced with these questions eventually. Whether a woman’s decision is made deliberately or unconsciously, the path that they choose to follow will dictate the rest of their lives. Although taking the shortcut is easiest, it is also a cruel waste of potential. Women in the twenty-first century are not here to be maids, housewives, and short order cooks, but when we intentionally leave our respective paths to meet the shortcut and stereotypical expectations that men have created for us, we crash through the concrete walls that once made us invincible. As any opportunity that we once had in life breaks into fragments too minuscule to ever be mended together again, we only make sexism worse. This issue occurs repeatedly in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. The men in the novel are not the only ones who use sexism to put females down. Women disempower themselves when they accept, embrace, and even promote sexist stereotypes aimed toward their own gender.

Because girls living in the 1930s grow up with set expectations, it is natural for them to accept and settle into the stereotypical life of a woman. Even the female characters who often rebel against the norm still allow sexism to hold them back. Scout, who is usually considered to be the most obstreperous and outspoken female in the novel, is guilty of acceptance. During Aunt Alexandra’s missionary circle, Miss Stephanie Crawford asks Scout if she is planning to become a lawyer like Atticus. Although the law profession has always fascinated Scout, she knows that the women around her believe that it is a job meant for males. Because of this, Scout replies, “‘Nome, just a lady’” (230). In addition to this, Scout willingly surrenders her pride when situations become grave. After receiving news of Tom Robinson’s death during the same missionary circle, Scout narrates, “I carefully picked up the tray [of cookies] and watched myself walk to Mrs. Merriweather. With my best company manners, I asked her if she would have some. After all, if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I” (237). Scout knows what she is expected to do as a young woman, and she acts accordingly. She not only pretends to have ladylike ambitions when all eyes are on her, but she truly gives into sexism and accepts the role and obligations of a female in the 1930s. On a broader scale, almost all women in Maycomb accept one particular sexist expectation into their lives. When Aunt Alexandra first arrives in Maycomb and is getting ready for church, Scout describes her as “fat, but solid, and she chose protective garments that drew up her bosom to giddy heights, pinched in her waist, flared out her rear, and managed to suggest that Aunt Alexandra was once an hour-glass figure” (128). Later on during Aunt Alexandra’s tea party at the Finch household, Scout observes the women to all be “cool in fragile pastel prints” (229). She goes on to narrate, “Most of them were heavily powdered. They smelled heavenly” (229). Scout’s descriptions show how much effort females in this novel put into appearance and body image simply because men expect them to do so. Aunt Alexandra uses a corset to force her figure into the shape that males have decided all females should be, and the missionary ladies use makeup and perfume to achieve the beauty that men believe all women should possess. Girls should not have to change their bodies for men in order to achieve society’s idea of perfection, but they accept these stereotypical expectations when they spend countless hours in front of the mirror trying to hide the aspects of themselves that men have deemed to be flawed. Similar to the loathing that Scout feels when she must act like a proper lady, the women cannot possibly enjoy being forced by sexist expectations to hide and manipulate their bodies. When Scout and the missionary women accept sexism into their lives, however, they relinquish all influence that they could have possessed in their society.

Women in To Kill a Mockingbird not only accept sexism, but learn to embrace and even appreciate the sexist stereotypes aimed towards their own gender. For example, shortly after Bob Ewell spits in Atticus’s face, the worried Jem and Scout attempt to convince Atticus to borrow a gun for protection. First, they must make their father realize how frightened they are for him. Scout narrates, “Jem said it might work if I cried and flung a fit, being young and a girl” (217-218). Then, instead of arguing about this sexist stereotype, Scout agrees with her brother and follows his suggestion. Although the stereotype is a hurtful one that claims girls are emotional and cantankerous, she has no trouble exploiting sexism when it benefits her. In addition, Scout embraces the sexist rules that stop her gender from having an equal place in society. One evening shortly after the trial and Bob Ewell’s threats, Jem asks Atticus why Miss Maudie never serves on juries. Atticus replies, “‘Miss Maudie can’t serve on a jury because she’s a woman. I guess it’s to protect our frail ladies from sordid cases like Tom’s. Besides, I doubt if we’d ever get a complete case tried- the ladies’d be interrupting to ask questions’” (221). Instead of retaliating against this overgeneralized assumption like many would expect, Scout is amused. She does something worse than accepting the stereotype- she embraces it with laughter. Miss Maudie also openly expresses her appreciation for this rule when she says that she is happy that she is not on the jury. Instead of merely accepting it with anger and frustration, Miss Maudie openly expresses her gratitude toward the rule and therefore embraces this form of sexism. Although many readers might consider her to be a strong female character, there are many additional times throughout the novel when she embraces sexism. For example, one of the stereotypes that exists in this time period is that women are better off in the kitchen making cakes while the men are out achieving great successes. Even Atticus Finch, a character who claims that he genuinely believes in equality for everyone, supports this sexist stereotype. During his closing speech at Tom Robinson’s trial, Atticus says, “‘We know all men are not created equal- some men make more money than others, some ladies make better cakes than others’” (205). This is hurtful to women because it implies that they can never do something truly important with their lives, yet Miss Maudie embraces this stereotype and spends her days baking cakes. If she were to simply accept the sexist expectation, she would at least be unhappy about her role in society. Instead, she enjoys it. Miss Maudie bakes cakes without hesitation not only for the children, but for the grown men who developed the stereotype. Because she spends her days baking and taking part in other stereotypically feminine activities, men do not consider her as someone who has important ideas worth sharing. Perhaps this is why they do not allow women to serve on juries. It is a vicious cycle that will never end until women stop embracing sexism and taking advantage of the stereotypes that belittle them.

There is only one action worse than accepting and embracing sexism, and that is encouraging it. Men create the sexist stereotypes that hold females back, but women themselves are the ones who act in ways that keep the demoralizing ideas alive and powerful. For example, women, not men, deride young girls for defying the stereotypical standards that males have set for them. When Aunt Alexandra and other relatives visit the Finches during Christmas, Scout narrates, “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants” (81). This expresses one of Scout’s greatest struggles in the novel- the pressure to dress like a proper lady. Men first made females believe that they have to look a certain way to be respectable, but women keep the expectation alive when they pressure each other to dress in a certain way. Almost all women in Maycomb are guilty of this offense. During the missionary tea party, Miss Stephanie Crawford tells Scout, “‘You won’t [become a lady] until you start wearing dresses more often’” (230). Beliefs like these convince vulnerable young girls that they are not true ladies unless they possess the stereotypical appearance of one. In Scout’s mind, dresses crush her individuality and heels eliminate the prospect of ever being able to run free someday, but because Alexandra and Stephanie force her to, she wears them. Surprisingly, Scout acts in a similar way. In Maycomb, it is common for boys to complain whenever someone is acting too much like a girl. After Atticus scolds the kids for their Radley-impersonation game, Scout remembers, “Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that’s why other people hate them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find some to play with” (41). In addition to this, when Scout is too scared to get her tire out of the Radleys’ yard after their fun went astray, Jem says, “‘I swear, Scout, sometimes you act so much like a girl it’s mortifyin’’” (38). The stereotype is that being a girl is something of which to be ashamed. Many would expect Scout to fight back against this idea, but instead, Scout uses and promotes the stereotype when Jem stops her from killing a roly-poly that she finds in the house. She thinks, “Jem was the one getting more and more like a girl every day, not I” (239). Although Jem convinced Scout that girls are horrible, Scout is guilty of agreeing with the stereotype and giving it the power to become an insult. By accusing Jem of acting like a girl, Scout strengthens the idea that being a female is shameful and something to be avoided at all costs. She uses the stereotype to make a point, but when she does this, she is encouraging the sexism aimed towards her own gender. Together, Aunt Alexandra, Stephanie Crawford, Scout, and almost every woman in Maycomb fuel the flame that is sexism. If they had never started feeding it with new life- encouraging the sexist stereotypes- the feeble fire might have died out. Instead, the women only ignite new flames, making themselves impotent and weak in the process.

When women accept, embrace, and encourage the sexism that men create, we do more harm to ourselves than any man’s sexist stereotypes alone can. If we continue to sit back and let demoralizing overgeneralizations define us, we will never overcome them. Even today, the phrase ‘like a girl’ is an insult. How can it be acceptable that slightly more than half of the world’s population is made to feel like their existence is an embarrassment? Women are not doing anything wrong simply by being who we are, yet young females insult each other for acting ‘too girly’ and ostracize those who are not ‘girly enough’. We need to realize that men will never move past sexist stereotypes until we stop using them against ourselves. I am an ambitious young woman, but I know that my gender will make it harder for me to achieve all of my dreams. I want to believe that I am growing up in a world in which I have just as much opportunity as the males who sit in classrooms beside me, but sexism is not just a twisted issue that taints our history. It is just as present today as it was in the time in which Scout lived. Fortunately, there is still hope for our society. Whenever I begin to question whether I can truly achieve my goals, I look to the female doctors, lawyers, and businesswomen who accept nothing less than what a man is given. I look to the mothers who bypass the shortcuts that spring up beside their highways- the ones who refuse to play the stereotypical role of housewife. My own mom has always been a powerful inspiration to me. She does not sink into the sexist expectations that most women do. Although my mother is not there to eat breakfast with me or pick me up from school, I am thankful that her hard work has encouraged me to become the motivated young woman that I am today. She is a gleaming reminder to all girls that we can defy the belittling expectations placed on us at birth. In his poem titled The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost discusses difficult choices and the two paths that a person can take in life. After the narrator picks a road to travel down, Frost states, “Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back” (14-15). The poem allows readers into the mind of someone struggling between the worn path- the shortcut- and the unknown road- the highway. It is a constant reminder to all women that there is no going back once we have made our choice. When we give in, we give everything up. Females must come together to fight against stereotypes. Only then will we be able to follow the same path as any man. Only then will we turn our dreams into an immediate reality.

1