Fitting approximately 100 noisy, obnoxious teenagers into one classroom is not only a fire hazard, but it is also the cause for a good headache.
Every few weeks during tutorial, I face such a situation for the National Honor Society (NHS) club meetings. As Secretary of NHS, I have the dignified responsibility of taking roll; a task that is in reality much more difficult than it seems. Obviously I need to raise my voice to a thundering yell in order to overcome those of about 100 others. In doing so, I hope to grasp the attention of all the NHS members; I do not however intend to raise eyebrows with my “powerful” voice.
Last month after a NHS meeting, I was approached by a member who at first complimented me on my ability to project my voice across the room, but then added a comment that did not sit well with me: “Stephanie, you have a very manly voice.” Excuse me? I have a manly voice! What?
At first, I just laughed it off, as most do when confronted with disconcerting comments, but the words continued to run through my mind. You have a manly voice. A manly voice. Manly.
I would like to know something: Since when is being stern seen as being manly? Unfortunately, the answer is since forever.
Although I do not consider myself to be a diehard feminist, I do feel, in some cases, women are confined by sexist stereotypes; women are dainty and light, we are not forceful or assertive. Men are the strong ones; everyone says so. In fact, thesaurus.com matches the word “manly” with “bold,” “strong” and “valiant.” Women are not expected to yell and be stern, so when we do yell with great power, we are seen as macho. This is not right.
Well I for one have had enough of these trite ideals and feel that women deserve more respect and recognition for our vigor. If anyone was to take a look around, then they would see plenty of women who are authoritative and fierce. Think of Hilary Clinton, the Williams sisters, Diane Feinstein, Brandi Chastain, Cristy Dawson. Women have proven to be powerful, influential individuals, so it is time erase ideas that say different.
So should we leave the yelling to the men? I say no. Women are strong-minded and forceful beings and we should not let domineering stereotypes hold us back. While some may be surprised when I yell in NHS, I will not change my tone of voice to avoid the criticism. I am a woman, so hear me roar, goddamnit.