You hear stories in history class about "how far women have come." Many women are proud to live in this generation, because we are "the future." Don't get me wrong, we have come a very far way as women's rights go. However, we are lightyears away from achieving equality among men and women.
It saddens me that women and girls are still categorized and demeaned due to our gender.
My first topic is about the dress code in public (and some private,) schools. I recently wrote a speech on this topic, and I would like to share it in another post. For now, I will briefly go over what was in my speech. My school has a dress code so that girls will not distract boys from learning. Notice how the girls get punished and shamed for the boy's actions. Throughout the speech, I mentioned how hard it is for girls to plan outfits everyday. It can be 100 degrees outside (as it is quite often,) and I will still be forced to wear jeans and a long sleeve tee shirt. We are taught at a very young age that clothing is what makes us "sluts" or "hoes." We are taught that us girls are the one's with a problem. Peggy Orienstien from The New York Times, said in an article, "Telling girls to cover up just as puberty hits, teaches them that their bodies are inappropriate, dangerous, and violable. It teaches them that their bodies are a constant scrutiny to judgement, by the adults whom they trust. Nor does it help them to understand their culture's role in their wardrobe choices." I love what she has to say here, especially about our culture. We are a growing and thriving nation. How are we supposed to represent our culture with wardrobe restrictions put on us? How is, "Boys will be boys," a justifiable excuse in a world full of rape and harassment? News flash to schools; there is no dress code on the streets. How about we teach boys to respect women and not to sexualize us?
My next topic is the saying of "You do ____ well for a girl." We constantly hear the expression of "for a girl" in our everyday lives. Usually this term is used with sports. I'm personally told all the time by boys that they can "beat me at the sport I play." Now when I ask these boys why they think that they can beat me (considering they don't even play the sport,) they simply say "because I'm a boy." The way they say it aggravates me as well. They say it as though it's obvious that just because of their gender, they are superior. Obviously a basketball player could beat me in basketball, boy or girl. This is because I don't play basketball, whereas other people may practice daily. Just because you are a boy, does not mean you can beat me in a sport I've practiced my whole life. That's like comparing a first grader to a senior, but saying that the senior is smarter due to gender. Obviously the senior has just had more opportunities to learn more than the first grader. Gender has nothing to do with skill and ability.
In the Bible (please put up with the religious talk, I promise it won't be in every post. However, religion is apart of my life so I will mention it sporadically,) it says that God created men to be leaders and women to be helpers. Now whenever you here the word "leader," you automatically think of a dominate position. When you think of the word "helper," you think of almost a sidekick figure. However in the Bible, it goes on to say that men and women are created equal. A man could not be without a woman; a woman could not be without a man. That does sound extremely sexist, "a woman could not be without a man." I see it as though men and women are obviously very reliant on each other. I mean you can't have a baby without a man and a woman. A woman is reliant on a man in ways, and a man is reliant on a woman in ways. The term "helper," has been demeaned by society. A helper is it's own authorial status. The definition of "helper," has been changed throughout history. Women have been powerful, strong, and brilliant since the beginning of time.
Now I realize that there was a lot of negative things about men in this post. However, the goal of this piece was not to demean men, that is hypocritical. I do believe that a lot of men out there demean women to a certain point, but not all men are monsters. There are amazing men out there who love and support women through everything. I do not wish to see a world where women have taken over. I want to see men and women live in harmony together. I want women to have as many opportunities as men, and vice versa. Never let a man tell you who you are and what you are capable of. You are so much more than "just a girl." I am deeply saddened that some people believe that being a girl makes them inferior. Go be the best girl you can be. As for men, I beg that you give women the respect they deserve.
-R
