Whoever says, “Women have come so far” in this day and age makes me laugh. Let’s face it, we haven’t. Yes, we are now allowed to apply for secondary education and are able to hold jobs. Some women are lucky enough to hold a CEO position at a company. But in all actuality, how long did we have to wait for these privileges to be granted to us? Yes, you read that correctly because I’m sure to the male species, we did not “earn that right.”
It wasn’t until July 1840 when Catherine Brewer became the first woman to earn a bachelor’s degree and graduated from Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. Only in 1972 did Katharine Graham become the first female found in the Fortune 500 CEO where she served as CEO of the Washington Post Company.
“Yet, we’ve still got a long way to go. Women today earn only $0.77 for every dollar paid to men. Only 21 Fortune 500 CEOs are women. The U.S. is one of the only countries on the planet that doesn’t guarantee a single day of paid maternity leave,” according to a group article comprised of writers including Judy Moyers and Stephanie Coontz.
In the 21st century, some men still look down to women. We are degraded to feel like we are less of a person.
We don’t just live our lives thinking, “Boys are better.” We are raised and corrupted to believe such a thing.
If you’re a boy, you are generally raised to like football and baseball. You are registered for karate. You play outside until dark. If you fall while running, you better not even think about crying because “You’re a boy. Boys don’t cry. Man up. Don’t be a girl.”
Opposite, girls are to remain inside. We are expected to help mom clean and cook. We must wear pretty skirts and cross our legs. We grow up hearing, “Don’t sit like that. Be proper. That’s not very ladylike.”
I am blessed my parents did not believe in this. I have an older brother who treated me like a little brother. After school, I played football with the other neighborhood boys. I raced against them and stood my ground when needed. You’ll never believe this, but my dad taught me how to hunt and fish. Yes, that is correct. This girl can shoot a rifle. All these things don’t make me less of a girl. They make me stronger. They made me into who I am today.
However, unfortunately, not everyone was raised to believe that boys and girls are equal. Your gender does not define who you are as a person.
This is a big problem in today’s society. Many women are believed to have one purpose in life, and that is to cater to men. We’re seen as a model for their pleasure. We must remain fit, have our hair fixed and wear nice clothes because a man loves a pretty woman. When our significant other returns home from work, we are expected to already have dinner cooked and the table set because he has worked such a long, tiring day.
I hate to break it to you, but women work long, tiring days too. The only difference is when women get home, they have more work to do including cooking, cleaning and catering to men.
We still live in a society where women are expected to be dependent on men, but that is not realistic. Some women are independent. Some women prefer not to have a man to answer to. Some women are enjoying the simple life. And these women are surviving on their own just fine.
For all you guys out there, next time a girl says something, instead of rolling your eyes and ignoring her because “girls don’t know anything,” respect her opinion. Have a conversation with her and don’t pretend like you’re superior over her because you’re not.
