All my life I have been surrounded by strong women and my life is infinitely better for it. I am so lucky for the fact that the strongest women I know also happened to be the first women I ever met—my mother. For as long as I can remember my mom has been a powerful yet extremely caring force of good in everyone's lives. I was raised to treat each person with the same respect regardless of gender. Recently there has been a lot of discussion about sexism and misogynistic attitudes that are still unfortunately, fairly common in our culture. Much of this enlightening and important dialogue was spurred on by the tragic drive-by shooting that left six dead, near Santa Barbara University in California on May 23; this brutal act of violence was clearly the work of an extremist but shed light on a disturbing way of thinking that still exists. The murderer's videos and writings showed themes of hatred towards women and the upsetting idea that men are somehow entitled to women. Sadly, these rantings echoed societal sentiments all-too-familiar for a shocking amount of women.
The social media based #YesAllWomen movement is a response these notions and has done a wonderful job to uncover the issues that all women face at one point or another in their lives. These problems are far from new and continue to be extremely important. Feminism has long set out to break down the injustices in our culture and fight for the rights of women and girls. Even now, in 2014 there still seems to be a lot of stigma and misinformation when it comes to feminists. Many of you may be surprised to learn that I identify as one personally. There are many people who have the false idea that feminism is about hating men, when in reality it's about equality and respect. Feminists seek to bring about social, political, cultural and economic equality for women. Some of the other core values deal with rejecting the double standards of women's sexuality and to stop victim blaming when it comes to harassment and sexual assault. When talking about these subjects, the lives of all women should be taken into account no matter their race, job or economic standing. It is also crucial we think about trans women and disabled woman who, statistically speaking tend to be the most abused. I strongly believe all people should be treated equally and as a man it is important that I do my part to advocate for this. Sometimes when this discussion is brought up people get frustrated, asserting that not all men are part of the problem. The truth is we all need to take responsibility for our actions and realize that most guys, including myself have participated in the act of degrading or objectifying women at some point in our lives. I would like to be clear that the Girl of The Week portion of my blog is meant with the utmost respect and admiration. I feel that all people should work together in order to change this society, which women have a 1 in 6 chance of being sexually assaulted and paid less money for equal work.
Another utterly ridiculous opinion that needs to be dismantled is the idea that women cannot handle leadership roles, many of the best leaders I have seen in my life are in fact female. I have seen firsthand—working in an office that is primarily women—that there is no difference between what men and women can do. Make-A-Wish Central New York is one of the most successful chapters in the nation because of the dynamic women who run it. As time goes by in our country I wish to be able to observe more and more women in positions of power and hopefully one day see the first female president. The late poet and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou once wrote: "Each time a woman stands up for herself... she stands up for all women."
Ensuring a better future for all people starts with the the messages we send to our children. It is so critical that we break the cycle and stop treating little boys and little girls so differently. We mush allow our youth to live out their dreams no matter their gender.
P.S. Girl of The Week:
Angelina Jolie
P.P.S. Song of The Week:
The Chain by Fleetwood Mac
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