Im not a feminist. seriously. No nazi-feminism here (and try spelling that when youve only had one cup of coffee...) But this #YesAllWomen movement has got me thinking. Every day I deal with stereotypes in life, and particularly in my industry. Little girl who started without any publishing contacts, never worked in the industry before, and decided that she wanted to. Wrong coast. No experience. Lack of ability to regularly travel to New York. NOT one of the good old boys. You get the idea. I hear it all the time. So yes, little girl from SD owns a big bad publishing company. Takes the world by storm. Deal with it. But it gets me thinking. It wasnt that long ago that we as women were fighting for our right to vote. Or being hustled into the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant, to make our man some dinner. Or being told that we were only good for minor work roles. 50s and 60s, anyone? Were still fighting for equal salaries, and opportunity in the work place. We still fight the stereotypes about holding down high-level jobs or competing with big powerful men in competitive situations. We face some of the same challenges that any other minority faces, tbh. A lot of it only changed b/c there were some very brave -- maybe slightly crazy -- girls who were willing to go to prison and be tortured to make their point. But heres what. Whining about it wont get us a damn thing. The only way to change it is to do something about it. Being upset that some guy thinks women are evil and decides to kill them? Screw that. There are a lot of women out there who cry about how unfair it is, or get all catty about it, and then there are women who decide to change it. Ive seen women outshine men in the medical and scientific fields. Ive seen women go up against powerful men in negotiations and leave them in the dust. Ive seen women arm wrestle other industries down and take them by surprise. THESE are the stories I want to hear. Not the I have to take my shoes off when I walk home in case I need to run stories. Screw that! Learn to box, and if someone chases you, KICK THEIR ASS. No one is going to be respected until they force the issue, and that goes for all women. Asking people to feel sorry for you is ... the wrong way. So yeah, when a filly takes on the boys in the Preakness, I cheer for her. When I see a girl playing goalie in boys high school soccer, shes my new hero. When I go up against someone more powerful than me and come out a winner, I have a small, secret part that says I am girl, hear me roar. Im not a feminist, I dont think, but it doesnt change the nature of the beast: if you want respect, you have to earn it. Its not going to come to you if youre sitting around whining about how mean and unfair the world is. Rant over.
Posted on: Sun, 25 May 2014 15:43:29 +0000
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