Since the Women's Movement and the historic bra-burning feminist demonstrations of the 1970s, we must ask ourselves: What have we accomplished?
It's no news that it's hard being a female student today. We attend college while trying to achieve perfection in every aspect of our lives. And we wouldn't have it any other way.
But in a study released last week, researchers at Duke University found that female students and faculty felt pressure from society to be, in the words of one participant, "effortlessly perfect."
The yearlong study aimed to analyze the culture of women in institutions of higher education such as Duke.
The women reported feeling pressure to be "beautiful, fit, popular, accomplished and smart, all without effort," according to The New York Times. While some men reported feeling the same pressure, they said the consequences of not conforming were less than those cited by women.
University life contributed to these pressures as well, with high importance given to sororities and fraternities. Like Duke, ASU has a healthy Greek enrollment among undergraduates, which may be the answer to the origin of some of these pressures.
When I was in a sorority on campus a few years ago, it was stressed to all of us that we should "look good" because we represented the house. Being told that got old, so I dropped out.
Students at Duke University also reported feeling dissatisfied with their social lives due to a lack of dating and a lot of "hook-ups," which The New York Times defined as a "fleeting alcohol-fueled sexual encounter."
Sorry ladies, but it looks like we can't blame our problems with guys on a male-dominated world; there are 2 million more women than men attending college in the United States today, according to the Northeastern University Center for Labor Market Studies.
Rosie Aguilera, a student at Scottsdale Community College, remembers the pressure to be beautiful and smart in college when she was younger; but now that she is 27, she has greater goals.
"I think women put the pressure on themselves," Aguilera said.
Just walking around campus makes it clear that women face more pressures to be "perfect" in life than men. As women, we do not feel adequate enough just knowing we can ace a test; we have to walk into class looking like Salma Hayek or a cover model.
Karina Hernandez, a student at UA, believes these are normal behaviors women take part in because they want to find a mate.
"Guys don't look at a girl and first think about her GPA. They look at her as a sexual object," Hernandez said.
Whether it's because they want to impress the opposite sex or because they pressure themselves, what does this mean for women?
One unfortunate consequence is that women are twice as likely than men to experience depression, according to www.5starhealth.com.
When you think about it, it's no wonder. Imagine trying to juggle a fit body, great hair, perfect skin, schoolwork, a close group of friends and dating all at the same time. OK, maybe it's not that hard - and we do enjoy looking pretty sometimes, but it would help if men respected our difficult roles.
Female students at Duke University and ASU may feel too much pressure to be perfect and in turn experience depression; instead women need to embrace their power as active members of society, rather than as passive objectified ones.
Catherine Portillo is a journalism senior and can be reached at catherine.portillo@asu.edu.
