Getting Your MRS Degree
You’re too pretty for college.
Wouldn’t you rather just stay at home?
You probably won’t complete your degree if you get engaged.
Once you marry, you probably won’t work anymore.
You’re just getting your MRS degree right now.
In one form or another, I’m sure we’ve heard these words spoken to us. As women in college seeking our degrees, there are many preconceived notions about the work we pursue in our academic careers. These conceptions involve the idea that we want to go to college to either have fun or find our husbands. Moreover, we don’t take our academic pursuits seriously. After four years of college, women marry and won’t use their degrees, or don’t even complete them, because we are expected to stay home- to mother children- to keep the house spotless- to wait for our husbands to come home so we wouldn’t feel alone in the house. This, my friends, is called an MRS degree.
Why is an MRS degree even a thing? During the ’50s and ’60s, college education finally opened up for women (YAYY… kind of). However, resources for women in college were limited, so many of the women ended up finding a husband in college so they didn’t have to stress about finishing college with the little chance they would be able to in the first place. Classes offered were in “Home Economics,” connected to the very prestigious Cornell University (The Cornell Daily Sun). “Home Economics” consisted of sewing, a marriage course, and any class that related to the kitchen (No, I will not go make you a sandwich). Now, I don’t know about you, but I can’t see many jobs you can get with a couple of sewing and cooking classes in a world run by businessmen. You can’t get a job- you can’t get money- you can’t support yourself. As a woman in this era, going to college was a form of securing financial stability in the academic world that gave us half-assed promises of our scholastic success.
Present-day education offers vastly different opportunities for women who want to pursue careers. Between the years 1970 and 2010, women earning a B.A. tripled from 14% to 36% (“The Rise of Women…”). Clearly, if women are provided with the academic means to thrive, we will thrive. Tripling percentages prove women’s ability to harness and tame the academic world; give women an opportunity, and we’ll run with it. My point is that opportunity and connection have a unique relationship. Simply speaking, if there are no adequate opportunities for females, then there are no adequate jobs to receive. In today’s society, I believe that there are enormous opportunities to receive from going to college. No, none of them are perfect opportunities, and there are still challenges, but we are on the precipice of growing and succeeding as women at the highest rates that history has ever seen. Going to college not only benefits ourselves but also our society as a whole. Women who invest in education are more likely to earn higher incomes (as opposed to not going to college) and, as a result, are able to connect with and invest in our economic world (“Girls’ Education”). From the knowledge cultivated at college, we are then able to nourish our children with an awareness of their educational opportunities. A generation of women that becomes aware of the fact that they are able to live independently through their college experience in order to generate their own financial stability produces the most confident women, as they do not feel bound to any type of marriage in order to feel secure.
As my sweet mother puts it: “Go to college for yourself, not for others.” You are a unique, talented, and gifted individual. Even if you don’t identify with the feminine stereotypes, this blog is still for you because you deserve a place at the table if you wish to make your own success. Build each other up during this time. College is greatly fulfilling, but also comes with great challenges. We as women have been given more tools and tricks to compete in the academic world. Sure, the gender gap isn’t completely closed, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop. We must become lawyers, doctors, writers, and so many other vital things to this ambitious society. And if you want to be a mother, go for it; there is nothing wrong with mothering the next generation’s children. Raise them and foster them for this extravagant world. We are given opportunities for almost everything, and if you see someone that doesn’t have the same opportunities as you, don’t be afraid to help them out. Being a woman is an amazing experience filled with beautiful moments and harsh competition. So, take the reigns and get that degree.
SOURCES
Strike Out,
Written by: Katherine Stegall
Edited by: Jane Dodge
Graphic by: Aisy Nix
