LACEY SHORTER: Women still face glass ceilings

Amal Clooney has quickly become one of Hollywood’s most recognizable stars, but she’s no entertainer. In fact, she’s quite the opposite.

As a preeminent scholar and highly accomplished international lawyer, Clooney is recognized as one of the most lauded intellectuals across the globe. However, the media would have you believe that her greatest achievement is her wardrobe rather than her career.

Unfortunately, this bias is deeply embedded in the media’s depiction of women, both on and off screen. Such a caricature lags far behind the reality of the 21st century “Renaissance woman” that exists in modern times, making it one of the most prevalent forms of culturally accepted gender inequality in America.

It has been said that smart women want to be thought of as beautiful and beautiful women want to be thought of as smart. Although there are many variations of this sentiment, the message remains the same. To imply that a beautiful woman cannot possess any other worthy qualities suggests that amid all the advancements made towards equality, the battle is long from won.

An incident involving one of the most noted female figures in the public eye illustrates the box that many women appear to be trapped in. Although, Beyoncé is one of the most revered individuals in the industry, when she appeared on “Good Morning America” this summer to champion a vegan diet in hopes of promoting healthier lifestyles, she was ridiculed and dismissed on social media as making a big fuss over nothing.

While the public generally has no problem listening to her belt her heart out over matters of the heart or dancing around on stage in outfits that would make grandmothers blush, they obviously don’t have time to hear anything intelligible she may have to say.

Various public figures have been very vocal about the stereotypes women face on screen. Meryl Streep once said, “When people come to me and say, ‘You’ve played so many strong women,’ I say, ‘Would you tell a man, “You’ve played so many strong men?”’”

Much of this bias can be attributed to the weak presence women have behind the scenes. A 2014 study conducted by Variety reported that merely 11 percent of writers are represented by women.

As a whole, we must confront this challenge head-on. Just because the world may not recognize the intellectual prowess of a beautiful woman does not mean that it ceases to exist.

Just as any successful marketing strategy first catches your eye, then pummels you over the head with its message, women should not be afraid to throw on their pumps before getting the boardroom pumped about their ideas. After all, your heels will only make it that much easier to shatter those glass ceilings.

Lacey Shorter is a teacher, freelance writer and mother of four. She has a master of art in social science from Georgia Southern University.