Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: Editorial/Opinion

One of my favorite movie quotes has to be from the movie, "A League of Their Own." It involves an announcer talking about all of the talented, beautiful girls who were out playing baseball while the men were fighting overseas during World War II. One of the girls, however, wasn't the prettiest of the bunch and could only be described as:

"Marla Hooch - what a hitter."

It wasn't until my Examining Women's Studies course that I actually realized that I've been oppressed into a "what a hitter" mentality. Don't get me wrong, I've never felt unattractive, that's not my issue. My issue involves being a young woman given certain expectations by a patriarchal society.

An article that I read by Marilyn Frye, titled "Oppression," focuses on how sex defines an individual's treatment. Frye defines oppression as "something caught between or among forces and barriers which are so related to each other that jointly they restrain, restrict or prevent the thing's motion or mobility."

Frye said, "there are people who are caged, whose motion and mobility are restricted, whose lives are shaped and reduced."

Say hello to one of the jailbirds.

To believe women aren't considered domestic and motherly today is naive. My mother hoped I'd be a kindergarten teacher, or my personal favorite, a dental hygienist. I hate cleaning. Ask anyone who knows me. I want to be a journalist. I want to live in a big city. And I want a bank account with only my name on it.

It took a few published articles to convince my family I wasn't built for their expectations. I was serious about journalism. My point from this is that oppression is out there, even in places least expected.

I've met young women who talk of getting married and eventually leaving their jobs. Women who were willing to transfer colleges for a guy they've been dating for a few months. I've also met someone who felt babysitting was more important than attending class. I don't know about you, but when I take on random tasks, I make sure they don't interfere with the plans I already have.

What happened to the "Miss Independents?"

Mind frames such as these hurt women in the workforce. Employers, though I hate to admit it, use the "I'm just going to quit" mentalities against all women. Even at the lowest levels, and I mean the lowest levels, they're experienced.

I worked as a lifeguard at the same pool every summer since 2004. This past summer was my last and the main reason why deals with how I was treated.

Seniority was the factor in deciding who obtained what position at the pool. Myself and another girl were in line for the positions of head lifeguards. When the positions were distributed the surprise didn't come from the girl who had worked a year longer than me, but from the guy who had started a half a summer earlier. I was shocked to learn that the male guard who had worked only a half a summer prior was given the position ahead of me. There wasn't a reasonable explanation as to why I was overlooked. Even the male guard who received the position couldn't understand why I was overlooked. I had the experience. I knew the job best.

This was strike one. Two more instances would occur as the summer progressed.

My manager was an older man around his 60s, which might explain why his ideas about women were so dated. I suppose he saw me as a cute girl who enjoyed a compliment once in a while - which I do. But, having a manager compliment you on how good your body is looking crosses the line. By the end of the summer I was at the point where I had had enough. The top to bottom scans needed to stop. My "scandalous" one piece swimming suit and shorts appeared to have forced strike two.

The final straw involved the pool's pump room. The pump room had a bunch of un-marked pipes and levers that could confuse anyone, but from experience I knew how all the levers functioned and had successfully performed various tasks involving them. Yet, a first year male guard was clearly more qualified to operate the room than me.

One day during my break my manager needed someone to work the pump room. Since I wasn't busy I thought I'd be recruited. But, my manager chose the male guard who was busy guarding a pool. This guard did such a good job, in fact, he had to walk out and ask me, while I was guarding his shift, for directions on how to operate the pump room.

And that was strike three - I was out.

Sexual oppression is out there. Though I gave examples of female oppression, it's existent in the male sphere. People will have their beliefs and peg you as quite the "hitter." But if you play the game according to your own terms, you won't lose yourself and be degraded.

I like "A League of Their Own" so much because it involves women stepping out of their defined roles. Marla especially was different and embodied a woman raised to be more than just the happy homemaker.

My advice, embrace the Hooch.

Saeger is a junior print journalism major and copy editor of The Spectator.

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