March 8th. International Women’s Day. It’s a day we – worldwide – celebrate females! So we must have equal rights by now, right? Except… we don’t.
Here’s the thing – I get it. Women have been seen as less than for so long. We’ve been objects and property and currency, things of beauty or an economic asset – little else. It’s going to take a while to make a complete shift out of that mindset, to see us as capable, function-able, worthy human beings, I get it. For so long, we’ve been seen as primarily sexual objects (something the ever rising porn industry is not helping with) – so I understand the high levels of sexual assault, the victim blaming we get, the rape culture we live in. I am NOT IN ANY WAY OKAY WITH IT, but from a sociological standpoint, I get it. In so many parts of the world, this shift to equality is still being flat out resisted. I’m lucky to live in a country where my getting an education wasn’t frowned upon, where I have the freedom to not only think my thoughts, share my thoughts with others, but also write my thoughts on the public internet. So I’m glad we have an International Women’s Day. We need it. I’m glad we have people fighting fearlessly in the name of progress. We need them. We need you! So I’m not sitting here, bitter, that overnight women haven’t become equal to men – I realize that’s impossible. I realize change doesn’t come instantaneously. I’m hopeful these things will one day change, I’m hopeful that “one day” comes sooner rather than later, and I’m hopeful for a brighter future for today’s girls to grow up in. I’m hopeful, but I remain realistic.
Yet there are some things I don’t get. There are some things that I just can’t fathom about our world today. There are some questions that keep circling in my head that I can’t find a reasonable answer to… Read More