Masculin Féminin: the duality of women

Dunne.

Cool girl is effortlessly beautiful. She wears fashionable clothes, but never shows that she puts effort into her outfits. She likes sports, she laughs at dirty jokes and she doesn’t have girl friends because they are ‘too much drama.’ But for this facade to ultimately work, cool girl must be conventionally attractive.

NINA BANKS campus editor nina.banks@my.tccd.edu

Though it has a straightforward definition, the concept of femininity has always been complicated. The spectrum has reached far and wide, and society has prided itself on telling us which forms are acceptable or not.

“The Cool Girl” – an archetype that has been an unspoken acknowledgement of how desirable women are meant to act. The trope was popularized in Gillian Flynn’s novel “Gone Girl” by the female antagonist Amy

The late 90s and early 2000s fostered an era of effortless beauty. Wearing pink and heels was too girly, and showed you were vain and cared far too much about your appearance. More ‘masculine’ colors were trendier, and sporting a pair of converse under a dress differentiated you from other girls.

However, with the advent of social media, new niches and aesthetics resurfaced or were created. Today, the coquette aesthetic, derived from the word ‘coquettish,’ is very popular and embraces being girly. The style is flirtatious and feminine as the definition suggests with soft colors, bows and dresses being core parts of the aesthetic.

iPads are parenting the next young generation of children

gives them immediate gratification is right in front of them?

The pandemic really didn’t do anything to help either, it seemed children only secluded more into their own digital world. Bringing children out of the pandemic must have been a struggle, and it must have been so much harder to do so with a child that owns an iPad.

HOPE SMITH campus editor hope.smith393@my.tccd.edu

Think of anything, the internet has it, for anyone too. It’s incredible. But do you recognize the feeling you get when you see a family of three at a restaurant: the parents and their iPad’s child?

This phenomenon has been affectionately labeled the “iPad Kid,” a term tossed around social media for some time. They are too young, vacant-faced children. This can’t be good for their development.

At some of their youngest stages in life, these children are given devices in which they don’t even have full proper motor function.

The child isn’t the issue though, it’s the parents. Children are hard, and children are needy. So the solution may look like giving them a form of constant portable entertainment to get a moment to breathe. It’s like slapping a bandaid over a gunshot wound.

Part of parenthood should be addressing the issue. They can’t push it on to an inanimate object and say, “I did all I can do!”

In the end, the child is going to develop more of an attachment to the device than to anything in the real world.

It’s scary because so much of human development is heavily reliant on social interaction. It’s hard to believe iPad Kids go out, and why would they when everything that

The growth of the new generation should be a big concern. It’s going to shift the way people interact with each other and how they communicate.

Obviously, the internet is unavoidable. At some point someone’s kid is going to have access. That’s OK. Children can still develop some sort of skill when it comes to the internet when they can properly pour something into a cup first.

It’s simple, but so much motor function can go into just steadily holding a cup, which is something that a lot of young children can’t do. That’s been apparent with a certain TikTok trend, where parents film their children trying to fill a cup by themselves and in a shocking turn of events, most of them can’t.

Let kids be kids. Let them first discover the real, tangible world. They are so curious, and let them be. There is a lot to discover in real life that a child will benefit a thousand times over from seeing in person, rather than have an iPad sing them the ABCs.

Parenthood isn’t easy, but children grow into adults who will eventually help lead the world. Raise people who are going to be eager to join the world, not hide from it behind a screen.

Femininity comes in different shapes and forms and the coquette aesthetic capitalizes off of the stereotypical aspects of it. Though it is great that this side of womanhood is being embraced again, we must acknowledge society’s dislike towards it in the first place.

Whether that is recognizing the emotional or physical associations we have with gender, femininity is becoming more and more welcomed in different facets of society. The lines between what is strictly for men and women have become more blurred in recent years, with male celebrities such as Kid Cudi and Pete Devidson donning skirts and dresses on the red carpet.

It also has a racial aspect that often deters many from participating in activities that may appear traditionally effeminate, men and women alike. Traditional American femininity is rooted in proximity to whiteness. For women of color, the concept has often contrasted to the stereotypes placed upon them, and thus unattainable to achieve.

Both of my ethnicities’ stereotypes have juxtaposed expectations of womanhood. Black women are often masculinized while East Asian women are frail and docile. Two vastly different expectations have made it difficult to find which standard I should adhere to.

The return of certain makeup looks and fashion trends have shown our stance on what we regard as feminine. The return of nomakeup makeup looks have returned, and it’s labeled as the clean girl look.

Fluffy brows, no foundation, blush and gloss define the style. And though it is a take on the original look, it embraces beauty by enhancing the features and the fun of makeup, rather than a rejection of femininity and a way to have the least amount of makeup on.

Womanhood looks different to everyone. It is important to acknowledge what standards we expect to see for feminine presenting people, and decipher whether those expectations are a barrier to being able to express oneself fully.

Summer break: fun for some and grim for others

more isolated and misunderstood than they may have already been feeling. Making sure students are aware of how to get in touch with their school counselors can really be helpful for students who may need to talk to someone.

KEYLA HOLMES campus editor keyla.holmes@my.tccd.edu

While many kids are excited for summer to start, considering those that may be having to spend all day in abusive homes is important to keep in mind.

For some, going to school can be an escape from the problems at home. Although plenty of books and movies portray kids being overjoyed for school to come to an end, it can be a bittersweet experience.

It can be harmful for students when their teachers and peers are talking about summer in one positive light. For many, summer break is filled with sleepovers, camping, swimming and traveling. However, not everyone has it that good.

Being asked questions such as, “Are you doing anything fun this summer ?” can inadvertently be putting a child in an uncomfortable situation. Even going around the class and having everyone talk about what they did over the break in summer can be difficult to navigate if you’re living in an unhealthy household, or something traumatic happened while on break. It can leave someone feeling

While teachers may unintentionally put kids in uncomfortable situations in regards to summer break, students can too. Other kids can make it seem like it’s supposed to be full of fun.

Although that makes sense, it can remind the student living in a difficult situation how much fun they won’t be having. Students can also brag about the trips they’re going on. With kids and young adults already struggling with body image and wanting to be well liked on social media, summer can be full of triggers. From all the vacation posts to bikini pictures, a student can just feel worse about their circumstances.

Which is why letting kids know that they’re not alone can be really important. In elementary school, I feel like I never really heard anyone bring up how summer break could be a difficult time.

It wasn’t until high school that I remember a teacher responding to a student who said, “who doesn’t like summer?” She brought up the idea of how summer break could actually be something that someone may not be looking forward to. She reminded us of how important it is to be open minded, and consider those who may see school as an out.