Now here’s a rarity. A movie that dares suggest that a woman can be happy without a man.

I recently rented the Sundance film, “Amy’s O” which was written produced and starred Julie Davis. The film profiled a very motivated self-help author who professed her independence as a woman and denied the need to have a man to be happy. Although the film has not received wide distribution, it was very keenly written by a woman with a message for all women: do not expect success from buying into conventional ideals of womanhood. Be an individual.

Susan B. Anthony once said, “It is a downright mockery to talk to women of their enjoyment of the blessings of liberty while they are denied the use of the only means of securing them provided by this democratic-republican government- the ballot.”

Well, that was in the late 19th Century. In 1920, when women were given the right to vote, our liberty simultaneously began to diminish with the first Miss America Pageant.

Yes, women have come a long way in the last 83 years, but our freedom remains veiled by a new malevolent constraint, the media. Since then, women have gained voting rights sexual freedom and corporate equality. By the same token, women are driven right back into the arms of oppression, and hide behind makeup, the newest fashions, etc.

In the so-called pursuit of independence and the search to find who we truly are, we have not yet successfully unveiled ourselves. We are still hiding behind a mask. Are we really trying to find ourselves, or are we just as guilty as most in our society? Maybe we should continue to float through life and let meaning escape us as we buy the newest mascara or Wonderbra with their promises of making us more “sexy.” Maybe we should stay blind to the fact that 1000 American women reportedly die from anorexia each year.

Hey, at least our country is not known for female genital mutilation, like some in Africa and the Middle East. We just practice another form of mutilation here and call it plastic surgery or physical “augmentation.”

The media tell women that we cannot accept that everyone genetically has a different physical makeup. Why else does Britney Spears make millions? Talent has virtually nothing to do with it. But for whom do we make these changes? Certainly not for ourselves.

And it’s not the fault of men. Women comprise more than 51 percent of the American population. We technically can have the democratic upper hand as the gender majority. Yet, a woman has never held a presidential office. We can’t seem to get together, except to swallow a common, shallow definition of femininity.

College women join sororities in an attempt to further themselves. For many, sororities are a facet for developing leadership skills, job connections, and provide support group of strong women. There are hundreds of women in the Greek system at Sacramento State. Yet, the media portrays sororities negatively. MTV’s Sorority Life is more a display of binge drinking and promiscuity than it is about the actual organization.

Another show, ABC’s “The Bachelor,” captured the hearts of many American women, as 26 million viewers tuned in to see its finale. Yes, women watched as one man had the opportunity to be with 25 different women before choosing his final bride-to-be. So we continue to approve of the degradation of women on a show that supports a harem.

But what about Trista, of ABC’s “The Bachelorette”? She will probably be called a “whore” for having the same opportunity to be with 25 different men before finding her “true love.”

Nor does our government support women. But why would they? Men are just fine holding the power over us, basing large portions of their party’s platform on deciding what women should do with their own bodies.

The United States is still one of the only countries in the world that has not yet ratified The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) that the United Nations adopted in 1979 to end all forms of discrimination against women. CEDAW, which is described as an international bill of rights for women, has been ratified by over 169 countries.

Boycotting every manufacturer who degrades the image of a woman isn’t possible because the message is so pervasive. There are far too many companies that depict women negatively. In a society where 90 percent of all girls ages three to 11 own a Barbie Doll, we are teaching women about their self-worth from the time they are young. And the lesson is “you’re second class.”

Media people such as “O’s” director Julie Davis are taking strides in the right direction. She probably won’t be applauding MTV’s second season of “Sorority Life.”