Adrianna Ross
Ina Seethaler
Women and Gender Studies * 305
5 October 2017
Cultural Observation Assignment
Oppression in the face of man is a real-life concept that women, especially growing and
learning women, are forced to face every day. White men, for the most part, are an
authoritative group of persons receiving privileges they never asked for; but were instead
chosen to receive. From school-to extracurricular activities, there will always be an unforeseen
aspect of constraint-like boundaries that will continue to discriminate women in the face of a
man, especially a white man. With this being said, I wanted to discuss the very social-injustice
that takes place every day in my own backyard.
Monarch Pool, an area practically accredited to their frat-themed ‘darties’ (day parties)
and obnoxious leveled pool parties, can also be classified as a patriarchy that consists solely of
privileged white males with little-to-none diversity in the mix. And the worst part of this over-
looked patriarchy of fraternity boys and athletes, is there growing oppression towards others
that don’t fit their ‘look’, but yet still occupy their very community.
For example, women who go to this pool are encouraged to wear only bikinis, and those
who don’t follow suit immediately catch nearly every dominant males’ attention and the quiet
murmurs of judgmental anguish come out to play. And the worst part is that we have grown so
accustomed to this nature that I now see girls coming to the pool in a full face of makeup,
pounds of jewelry, and bikinis so tiny- that you’re surprised it was even allowed to be sold in
stores in the first place. All of these factors put an unbelievable amount of stress on a growing-
girls’ shoulders. In college especially, nearly every girl deals with weight issues and insecurities
in general regarding looks, and the social construction of the Monarch Pool itself is one that can
be found toxic to not only women, but to all ‘outcasts’ who don’t necessarily fit in with the
social norms that this ‘Patriarchy’ of white men expects them to fit.
We as women can’t be what we can’t see, so how are we supposed to feel comfortable
at the pool in a one-piece, when nearly every famous ‘pretty girl’ on social media or television is
flaunting their life in a tiny thong bikini with an accentuated contour-caked on their face? I as a
