From the outside looking in, young women are taking the country by storm. Achieving and excelling at unprecedented rates, our generation has more opportunities than any generation of women before it. Females now outpace males in college enrollment. The notion of attending college to land a husband is a distant memory. Women are in school to make a life for themselves, not to find someone willing to let them fit into theirs. The expectations are growing.
“Effortless perfection,” a term coined by the 2003 Duke Women’s Initiative Report, creates a campus environment wherein it often feels like fitting in requires having no flaws, so nobody shows any hint of struggle even as those struggles — particularly in the realm of mental health — grow larger and more dangerous by the day.The Effortless Perfection Myth
An image is something one must constantly strive for, a process that transforms us from human beings into “human doings.” We fall into patterns of “I will be happy when I _________ ,” which try to create proof that we are winning whatever it is we are supposed to be winning. We create a system by which we are attempting to build a sense of self out of grade-point average, Instagram likes, and other forms of academic and social capital.
The biggest difference between the two is that an identity is permanent, while an image can only be achieved in brief moments. We reach it and embody it, but then the moment shifts or the image alters and we fall back into hot pursuit. It’s exhausting, like running on a treadmill that only goes faster.Why does it matter how fast I can run if I’m not actually making ground?