Because this is my blog and I can do whatever want, I feel that it’s time I get up on one of my many soapboxes: Women. Being one myself I think I have an understanding and empathy for women that no man will ever have.
I always start out my rant and raving by saying that the lowest human on the totem pole is a woman. Let’s take a look at some of my favorite examples: China has that one baby rule, so good bye all female babies. China is now suffering from a skewed male to female ratio and for some unknown reason dudes can’t find a nice lady friend to marry…shocking. So even though they want male children to carry on the line, they can’t be bothered to have female children to actually procreate with (you know the ones that actually MAKE the baby). China isn’t the only country who values men so much more than a woman.
Afghanistan is a country that gives China a run for its money. The females here are treated a little better than slaves. If a mother is kind enough to keep her female baby, that little girl would work herself to death and be constantly reminded she is less than a man, only good for having the coveted male children. Her father (and brothers) would eventually sell her off to a new man (her husband). I like to use that term loosely since her new “husband” is rather her new “owner” until she dies.
And for all those nay sayers, who point at a third world country ignorance and snubbing it as isolated incidents– You would be sorely mistaken! Since I’m from the good ole U.S. of A, I have a few nice statistics and personal experiences to share as well!
1 in 3 is the statistic that they give you when you join the US military and take the mandatory Sexual Assault Awareness Training. One out of three females you know have been sexually assaulted. In a male dominated profession, being a female in the military can be a bit difficult depending on your job. Although you are encouraged to bring your sexual harassment and assault complaints to your superiors, you’d better be ready for nothing to change, no action to be taken and the people you work with will now call you the “b*tch that can’t take a joke.”
And if you think the military is the only place it happens…you’d be wrong about that too. After 6 years serving active duty, I switched to a civilian job, working for a company. I’ve never been sexually harassed more in my entire life than I was the first two years working at my job. Speaking of having a job, let’s not all forget that even though I do the same amount of work (if not more) as my male counterparts, I still get paid 30-40% less then they do.
So enough of the examples, what am I trying to get at? I’m working at creating what’s most important to this cause— AWARENESS. For women: It’s about working together instead of hating each other. It’s supporting each others accomplishments, recognizing each others contributions and passing the importance of being a woman on to the younger generation. For men: Be aware of how you treat women–the things you say and the standards you set will become the precedent on how your mother, sisters, wives and daughters will be treated and how your son will treat women.
Admittedly, it’s some serious-seriousness and I’ve only just scratched the surface, but that’s why it’s written in my “Soap Box” category–and soap boxes are made for ranting about changes our societies need to make.
Marie's Meanderings 