Introductory Letter

My name is Emily Leiter. I’m from Fort Lauderdale and I am a junior here at UCF. I am majoring in Psychology, with minors in Women's Studies and Sociology.  I love the beach and going to the gym, and I am addicted to coffee… My parents always tell me that I am the reason Starbucks is still in business. 

After receiving my bachelor's degree, I hope to get my doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology and work with young women who are suffering with eating disorders. Eventually, I want to open my own rehabilitation center where these young women can stay for an extended period of time, and receive any treatment they should need.

I decided to minor in Women's Studies (which requires this course) because I feel like having a greater knowledge and understanding of women will benefit me when it comes to achieving career goals.

I think that gender influences all of our lives, whether we realize it or not. To fit into society, we all follow societal norms, which are typically defined by gender. For example, women take the kids to school and make dinner, while men go to work and are considered the "breadwinners" of the family. While things in our society have certainly changed in respect to women and their societal roles, these gender norms are still very apparent in every day life. It is true that women are much more accepted in the work force than in previous years, but they still face challenges when it comes to the prestige of jobs, receiving lower salaries and difficulties receiving higher rank in companies. The typical “woman” occupations are nurses, teachers, secretaries, etc., while men have the higher paying jobs, such as doctors, lawyers and CEOs. This is not saying that women are nonexistent in these work fields, but it is statistically proven that women will receive lower pay than a man, for the same job.

Still on the topic of gender in everyday life, children are brought up believing that girls’ rooms are pink and that they must play with dolls and boys’ rooms are blue and they must play with trucks. These gender stereotypes are programmed into babies’ minds the second they get wrapped in a pink blanket or a blue blanket at the hospital. This is just the standard for our society. Who is to say that a boy cannot have a baby doll or that a girl cannot play outside in the dirt with the boys? Society has molded our views and beliefs about gender and how the two genders should act. As a society, we find is extremely peculiar when one of the genders are following the gender norms of the opposite gender; we do not like change, or anything out of the norm.