Marilyn Says
"I don't mind living in a man's world as long as I can be a woman in it"
Marilyn Monroe
I think I have gotten a bit off track from my original idea of writing about what women want to sharing what Marilyn Monroe thought about life, being a woman and what she wanted. I guess it's not too far from where I started. I think I just get distracted so freely and I am happy about it.
This quote from Marilyn is so exciting and it tells a lot about how she viewed women and men. I think that even today there is a woman who would agree that living and working in a man's world isn't easy and all that she wants is to be who she is and this be enough. In fact that being around men in the workplace is about men accepting that simple fact. Oddly enough many men don't see it this way. They want to treat the woman as if she were another man and while some women might want that most women don't. I say that being a woman is something to be proud of and not something to downplay just to get along. A woman is a woman and when she is around men she should be acknowledged for being who she is, a woman.
I remember a lady who I was friends with saying that she likes when men treat her like one of them. She preferred being around men and liked working with men much more than she liked working with other women. She was firmly aligned with being like a man in a man's world rather than to be a woman in a man's world. I also referred to another female aquaintance as an actress and she corrected me and stated that she was an "actor". She did not want her title as an actor to be gender specific and would rather be called an actor so that it would not connotate that she was a woman who acted.
Marilyn Monroe would rather be treated like a woman even in a world that she interpreted as a "man's world". Today there are plenty of women who would agree that this is a man's world considering that most of the people in power are men and in politics are men this might be an accurate observation today. There are still women who would like to be seen as a woman in a world where there are so many men being acknowledged.
Hilary Clinton is one of the women of this era who has worked in a man's world, yet what I think shows through is that she is a woman and she is way OK with that fact. She is a woman, of the very few women, that is a politician and has succeeded in a rather male dominated profession and role. It would be refreshing to see a woman become the first woman president and it does mean something. It means that a woman suceeded in a man's profession that for so long supported the idea that a woman could not be president. I look at my granddaughter Mia and I see her as that kind of girl who will be a woman in a man's world and who will likely be the first woman in some field out there in the world.
I don't mind being a man in a woman's world and oddly enough I was. I was a teacher at the elementary grade levels and worked in a woman's world. There were times when I wanted to be a man in a job where women dominated. I just wanted to be myself. I was way accepting of the fact that I was one of the few men in a job where mostly women worked in. I could feel it from other teachers who felt like I could be a man in a world where women dominated while others would rather have me blend in and not show up as a male so much. it made them feel uncomfortable for a man to be a grade school teacher and there were times when I sensed that being too much of a man was not a good thing.
I am lookng forward to the day when one could say this is a woman's world. I actually think that it is already becoming a woman's world. Women are taking a role in work and in every aspect of the world of leadership. Women like Hilary Clinton are pathing the way as is Oprah and many other women. To be a woman in a man's world is just that. It does not mean that she cannot or should not express her feminine side. It simply means that women should be able to be who they are under any circumstance.
Marilyn Monroe
I think I have gotten a bit off track from my original idea of writing about what women want to sharing what Marilyn Monroe thought about life, being a woman and what she wanted. I guess it's not too far from where I started. I think I just get distracted so freely and I am happy about it.
This quote from Marilyn is so exciting and it tells a lot about how she viewed women and men. I think that even today there is a woman who would agree that living and working in a man's world isn't easy and all that she wants is to be who she is and this be enough. In fact that being around men in the workplace is about men accepting that simple fact. Oddly enough many men don't see it this way. They want to treat the woman as if she were another man and while some women might want that most women don't. I say that being a woman is something to be proud of and not something to downplay just to get along. A woman is a woman and when she is around men she should be acknowledged for being who she is, a woman.
I remember a lady who I was friends with saying that she likes when men treat her like one of them. She preferred being around men and liked working with men much more than she liked working with other women. She was firmly aligned with being like a man in a man's world rather than to be a woman in a man's world. I also referred to another female aquaintance as an actress and she corrected me and stated that she was an "actor". She did not want her title as an actor to be gender specific and would rather be called an actor so that it would not connotate that she was a woman who acted.
Marilyn Monroe would rather be treated like a woman even in a world that she interpreted as a "man's world". Today there are plenty of women who would agree that this is a man's world considering that most of the people in power are men and in politics are men this might be an accurate observation today. There are still women who would like to be seen as a woman in a world where there are so many men being acknowledged.
Hilary Clinton is one of the women of this era who has worked in a man's world, yet what I think shows through is that she is a woman and she is way OK with that fact. She is a woman, of the very few women, that is a politician and has succeeded in a rather male dominated profession and role. It would be refreshing to see a woman become the first woman president and it does mean something. It means that a woman suceeded in a man's profession that for so long supported the idea that a woman could not be president. I look at my granddaughter Mia and I see her as that kind of girl who will be a woman in a man's world and who will likely be the first woman in some field out there in the world.
I don't mind being a man in a woman's world and oddly enough I was. I was a teacher at the elementary grade levels and worked in a woman's world. There were times when I wanted to be a man in a job where women dominated. I just wanted to be myself. I was way accepting of the fact that I was one of the few men in a job where mostly women worked in. I could feel it from other teachers who felt like I could be a man in a world where women dominated while others would rather have me blend in and not show up as a male so much. it made them feel uncomfortable for a man to be a grade school teacher and there were times when I sensed that being too much of a man was not a good thing.
I am lookng forward to the day when one could say this is a woman's world. I actually think that it is already becoming a woman's world. Women are taking a role in work and in every aspect of the world of leadership. Women like Hilary Clinton are pathing the way as is Oprah and many other women. To be a woman in a man's world is just that. It does not mean that she cannot or should not express her feminine side. It simply means that women should be able to be who they are under any circumstance.
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