What I've learned from men by Barbara ehrenreich - Essay Example

On Being a Lady In “What I’ve Learned From Men”, Barbara Ehrenreich thinks that women today are still ladylike when it comes to battle of the sexes (Ehrenreich 225), viewing being ladylike as just being weak, and nice (226). Being ladylike does not demean women but in fact, can be used to empower them. Women can be tough but still nice in a ladylike way. Her action with a prestigious professor is not ladylike and can be considered cowardly (225). Protecting oneself from being attacked or abused does not demean being a woman.

Instead, standing up for oneself or not acting crazy out of anger, is the very essence of being a lady. I don’t agree when she said that we may be able to learn from men what to do with anger (227), as women have long since learned to express anger in a civilized way, positively producing the desired effect, making men realize that women are able to stand for themselves. That does not lessen them as women. Instead it makes them women with substance.Women can be very aggressive but not rude, acknowledging their talents, abilities, skills and success with humility.

Expressing oneself nicely rather than looking and waiting for a fight, makes a person better understood and listened to.Women today acknowledge that having education, firm character, belief in oneself and humility, do not make them less of a woman, but rather leads to essentially being a lady. For me being ladylike empowers a woman in getting what she wants. I believe that how you act and treat others determines how others act and treat you. Work CitedEhrenreich, Barbara. “What I’ve Learned From Men” From Idea to Essay 2009: A Rhetoric, Reader, and Handbook.

McCuen-Metherell, J.R. and Winkler, A. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2009. 224-227. Google Books. Web. 5 March 2013.