WouldntULike2Know Marx

“For each new class which puts itself in the place of one ruling before it is compelled, merely in order to carry through its aim, to present its interest as the common interest of all the members of society, that is, expressed in ideal form: it has to give its ideas the form of universality and present them as the only rational, universally valid ones.”

Still occurring today, the dominance of social groups through hegemonic ideology serves as a way of repeating culture. The frightening aspect to this is that through false consciousness, we not only believe, but embrace and encourage the very notions that often hold us down. These hegemonic views are so commonplace that we often see them as natural or innate characteristics, and not as a way for dominant groups to create submission.

As women, we are told that we have immense compassion and understanding of feelings, which is why we make the most appropriate caregivers. In abiding by this notion, we forgo social respect and rewards that could be earned if we worked in corporate America. Instead, this understanding is so engrained in us, that we actually start to believe that we like doing laundry and mopping floors because we are doing it for our families. When really, we are being held back. Women are rarely considered for executive positions in high level companies because it would threaten men’s control of power. Furthermore, by maintaining the ideology that women should raise children and not work, women are dangerously vulnerable and dependent on their husbands, creating a far from egalitarian marriage. If a woman wishes to exist in the business world, she must sacrifice an immense amount of time with her children in order to be taken seriously, which is exactly how a majority of women are persuaded out of the workforce.