Underestimation of the Level of Achievement - Essay Example

In Throwing like a Girl by Iris Young, she claims that: “it has been found that women more often than men underestimate the level of achievement they have reached.” This statement, I believe strikes a familiar chord in all of us- females. Could this be really true? Are we some kind of by-product of our society and the surrounding environment? Is this somehow related to culture and who and what influences women to act in such a way?

Most of all, the level of achievement in let's say physical exercise is implied in our day-to-day lives and chores. Societal norms managed to unconsciously divide or advise us on which tasks can or should be performed by males and which by females. As a little girl, you are brought up in a way that teaches you how far your abilities can stretch and you should not venture further and explore your potential beyond the settled guidelines. Therefore, you are raised not to believe in your abilities. Only “ if we should finally release ourselves from this spiral and really give a physical task our best offer, we are greatly surprised indeed at what our bodies can accomplish” Young said.

In my opinion, the spiral from which all this misperception stems is within the family realm and community as a whole. Because society is formed by the nucleus family cell. I want to believe that women all around the world start realizing their true abilities and may even oppose the popular cultural beliefs that they can achieve less than men do. I come from a culture where the prevailing attitude is that men do everything better than women, with the exception of cooking, maybe. However, I am positive that if parents try and encourage their children, regardless of their gender to try and achieve something more, their children will eventually accomplish the new task and prove that they are capable of doing so. This will bring more joy and happiness for both parents and young children and hopefully trigger some societal changes.

Secondly, women in general tend to hide their strength and be more delicate and frail in order to protect themselves. But then again, I think that this is happening because they have been trained to believe that they are fragile. The projected image that they have for themselves is one of being objectified. Thus, it seems easier for women to justify their underestimation in achieving physical tasks. If nobody believes they can accomplish it, why should they believe themselves they can? It is true that men are physically built differently than women, they have stronger body mass, for example. But what if women start to try more often if they can lift a certain weight? This might be a turning point in their own perceptions.

I am not sure if I will ever feel like an Olympic medal winner after opening a jar, or after carrying several heavy bags with groceries on my own. But I will feel more appreciated and valued when I know that there are physical tasks that I can perform equally well as a man can.