I am Leviathan

Girls are unfairly restricted from doing certain things. Sometimes, it’s really important, such as education; other times, it’s things such as dreams and passions. However, both of these things are significant and in some situations, girls are expected not to have these opportunities. This theme of gender inequality is prominent in books “Leviathan” by Scott Westerfeld, and “I am Malala” by Malala Yousafzai. “Leviathan” follows Alek and Deryn, who meet by accident on board the airship called Leviathan. Deryn is a girl disguised as a boy so that she can join the British Air Service. “I am Malala” is a true story about Malala, a girl who stood up for girl’s rights to education and was shot by a fundamentalist Muslim movement. Both “I am Malala” and “Leviathan” bring up the subject of stereotypes and expectations preventing girls from following their passions. Girls being restricted from doing things can have a big effect on their life; usually, it pushes girls to take action, either on a large or small scale, which sometimes has life-threatening or simply humiliating consequences.

A theme in both texts is that girls are confined due to expectations, which urges them to protest against it. Deryn, in “Leviathan,” dreams about joining the British Air Service. However, it is illegal for girls to join the Service, preventing her from following her passion. “Leviathan” describes how it was unfair to Deryn, where other, less qualified boys are able to join the Service. She comments on how “the tallest hardly came up to Deryn’s shoulder. They couldn’t be so much stronger, and she didn’t credit that they were as smart or as brave. So why should they be let into the king’s service and not her?” Since girls aren’t allowed become ‘midshipmen’, Deryn disguises herself as a boy and is recruited into the Service. Although this does not affect anybody drastically, her resilience signifies rebellion in order to allow girls to follow their passions. Likewise, in “I am Malala,” Malala finds it hard to go to school and receive an education because girls in her culture aren’t supposed to go to school. A man who is part of the Taliban, a Muslim movement, voices his opinions, saying that “[he is] representing good Muslims and [they] all think that [Malala’s father’s] school is a blasphemy.” The Taliban believe that “girls should not be going to school.” In Pakistan, girls are “expected to cook and serve [their] brothers and fathers.” Malala protests against this by standing up for girl’s rights to education. Both “Leviathan” and “I am Malala” show how girls object to following unreasonable restrictions and insist on change, just in different ways.

Although both texts express the theme of gender limitations and girls protesting against this, there are differences in the consequences that they face. In “Leviathan,” Deryn wants to join the Service because it’s her passion. If she doesn’t join the Service, there are no extreme effects. The most that would happen to her is that she would simply be forced to wear skirts and corsets. “No more dreams of flying, no more studying.” Despite the fact that this would still affect the way that she lives her life, there are no serious, life-threatening outcomes. In addition, Deryn’s protest is small and secretive. The results mainly had an effect on Deryn alone. Furthermore, Deryn’s act of defiance didn’t lead to many consequences except for the fact that the Service would be humiliated if anybody reveals her secret profile. Deryn took action on a small scale, which simply resulted in the possibility of embarrassment.

"I am Malala" shows how Malala openly protested for girl’s rights to education, which provoked life-threatening consequences. Malala is prevented from going to school. This means that she doesn’t get an education. This is a serious issue. Education should be a basic right for everyone because everybody deserves to be able to learn things about their world. Malala is being restricted from something that should be a basic human right. If she doesn’t go to school, she would “be ignorant” to the world around her. School is an important part of children’s lives. If a girl has no education, she wouldn’t be able to work to earn money. Without money, the girl would have to “be dependent on a man.” Malala stands up to this openly, publicly voicing her opinions, unlike Deryn in "Leviathan". This results in a Taliban shooting Malala, showing how her protest leads to a large, life-threatening consequence, dissimilar to "Leviathan". Malala took public action on an important issue, which caused a huge effect.

In both of the texts "Leviathan" and "I am Malala," the authors bring up the important theme of gender inequality. Readers would conclude that sometimes, having expectations and restrictions for people have large consequences, on their health and their lifestyle, for girls especially. "I am Malala" is a true story about Malala Yousafzai. It shows what girls really go through in real life, specifically in Pakistan. "Leviathan" also truly shows how girls are restricted as well, in a different situation. Either way, gender inequality is a real issue that should be solved, or large consequences to girls may be unavoidable.

The Problem With Girls Self-Esteem

The teenager will avoid eye contact with the rest of the class while doing a presentation.

She’ll speak quietly to avoid embarrassment not wanting to attract attention to herself.

And it’s not because she’s shy.

‘3/4’ girls admit to being affected by what people think of them.’ Says student from Oregon State University. ‘ And it increases to 98% by the time they are 20.’ She says researching the behaviour of girls aged between 12 and 20.

Middle and high school students are constantly stressing about other people’s opinions of them. Unknowingly lowering their self-esteem and increasing their insecurity. Everyday they are hiding their tears pretending to be as happy as a child walking into The Magic Kingdom. It is showing us that they are pretending to be okay when they really are not.

The students of Oregon State University initially learnt about the insecurity among teen girls when one students relatives talked about her fear of getting judged in school. After noticing what a large issue this is she surveyed many girls and found out the 85% of girls are insecure. And more than 50% say it’s because of external pressure from others.

That is what should worry people. Insecurity is also shaped from how you are treated at home, the kind of environment you live in. ‘Insecurity is very present in the 21st century’ say a researcher from NYCU. ‘And it only drives people away from you. People won’t want to spend that much time with you anymore. ‘

Indeed, experts say insecurity and peer pressure can limit your opportunities and make it more difficult for you to make friends. In addition, insecurity will add stress to you lifestyle therefore causing more people to judge you. And they also suggest that when you are an insecure teen who cares about others opinions on you, it last fir many years and will not just disappear.

3/4 teens worry about others opinions and only 1/4 teens acknowledge that everyone is good at something and bad at something which is why ‘no one should judge anyone.’ The teen continued saying ‘ I could easily judge you on something you’re bad at, but I don’t.’

For the most part girls go around everyday without anyone knowing that they are insecure. 6/7 say they think they hide their insecurities well and 80% of girls say they don’t notice if their friends are insecure about something.

These girls don’t know themselves why they are so insecure, or why they care about what other people think of them. But the girl who walks through the crowded hallway with her head down looking for any sign of judgement among peers. However this same girl is being admired for her bravery and her confidence by one of her peers, completely unaware of her insecurities eating her alive.

But now, students are fed up with their insecurities and are getting help from their friends to make them more confident and less worried about what others are saying. One child from UWCSEA writes down things the feels good about everyday. Another student remembers all of the great things she has done whenever she feels like she hasn’t done something right. These are just simple things that anyone one insecure can do too.

And if nothing works, just remember that you are not alone.

Simply Because You Are A Girl

You’ve spent your entire life being judged. Simply because you are a girl.

‘You can’t play soccer! You’re a girl.’ Yells a young boy in 4th Grade to a girl in the same grade in India. The girl walks away in tears, saddened by the fact that she can’t play simply because she’s a girl. The boys yell after her, calling her a ‘baby’ and a ’sissy’. They yell how she’ll never be allowed to play soccer with them. A boy of 7 years is taught that he is better than girls and taught that some some activities such as sport and computers are only for boys while other activities are for girls. Another girl in grade 8, is being ridiculed for enjoying and liking engineering. The boys that laugh at her are younger then her, they’re in the 6th grade, but they think that it’s okay to laugh at her. When the girl tells them to stop, they say ‘Don’t be so bossy’ and ‘Are you on your period? ‘cause you’re so grumpy.’ They laugh at their ‘jokes’ but the girl looks hurt and she turns away.

Sexism in all it’s forms is shown in the media, in schools and in the workplace. All over the world women experience inequality of varying levels. It’s vile, women shouldn’t have to fight for basic rights. But they do and that’s a problem. Every girl that was interviewed said in one way or another they had been the victim of sexism and sexist bullying. It ranged from being told that they can’t do a sport to being laughed at because they like engineering. Girls had been told to their face or it was done subtly. All the boys said they most likely had been sexist unintentionally and some even said they had told the girl to their face that they couldn’t do something because they’re a girl.

Sexism makes girls feel worthless, unwanted and unable to do things. People who stand up for women’s rights are ridiculed by others for standing up for girls young and old. Gender equality is closer than ever. Women fight to earn their dollar instead of 75 cents. Women fight to be treated equal. Girls who are 10, telling boys that they can play soccer because they are equal to boys. Women in their 90’s telling stories of how they helped in a war, even when women were treated inferior to men. These women stand up for what they believe in. They stand up so that the next generation doesn’t have to.

But sexism can be fought by joining together as a community. We can teach boys from a young age to see girls as equal. We can let girls do sciences and engineering without being ridiculed. Let boys do cooking and other domestic activities so they can learn. Don’t make fun of girls who want to play with ‘boy-orientated’ toys or vice versa. The new generation is coming and with them comes a world free of sexism. But only if we act now.