It's as if a window finally opens revealing the sun's rays illuminating with the truth that men and women face different challenges. Marked Women by Deborah Tannen must face the music when applied to Professions for Women by Virginia Woolf. In Tannen's essay the claim that "[t]here is not an unmarked woman" has difficulty standing, but manages to support Woolf's position on the battle that women fought against the traditional norm of the freedom they can possess. First, Tannen states that all women are “unmarked” and this leaves room for doubt in the essay. The way she only looks at women during the encounter means she is more attracted to looking at how different each woman looks. The term “marked” in Tannen's essay “Refers to the way language alters the basic meaning of a word by adding a linguistic particle that has no meaning by itself” (Tannen 295). The definition of “marked” allows men to have the unmarked case. Tannen states, “Each of the women at the conference had to make decisions about hair, clothes, makeup, and accessories, and each decision had meaning” (Tannen 295). The meaning would imply that no physical display could go unnoticed without leaving any ideal of appearance as standard as that of men. Tannen states, “Their hair did not obstruct the view, left little to be thrown or pushed back or fingered, and as a result, they did not need or attract attention” (Tannen 295). The similarity between each of the men present at the meeting left no desire to look and only let the women stand out. The women's reflection in her essay that they have no choice but to accept being "unmarked" leaves her argument in possible tension against Woolf. However, Woolf's Professions for Women is a... medium of paper.... ..women separated from the workplace collapse, but the ability to go beyond constantly needs work. Woolf's female professions. The struggle women face to not be “unmarked” does not stop them from rising above. Despite being from different eras, Tannen was able to apply her argument to Woolf's and reveals another shining window for the future of women around the world. Works Cited Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. "Marked women". The Blair Reader: Exploring issues and ideas. 7th ed. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2011. 294-298. Print.Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. "Professions for women". The Blair Reader: Exploring issues and ideas. 7th ed. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2011. 410-414. Press.