My Project's Purpose
The article I've written was inspired my desire to understand why in my first serious relationship, I often felt that I fell into negative stereotypes I had been warned to avoid: the girlfriend who asks for too much, who complains too much, who is too emotional. Although at the time of my relationship, I doubted anyone would understand my insecurity about falling into this high maintenance trope, I've since found that my experience is more common than I realized. I decided to explore the effects of common stereotypes about women in relationships in the form of an article for a feminist magazine to best reach my target audience — young women going through their first relationships, who might be more likely to experience these feelings. By combining my own experience with testimonies from my peers and research on how gender norms can affect relationships, my final project seeks to identify and dismantle the stereotype of the high-maintenance girlfriend and validate "needy" women everywhere.