Little Suzie is a 12 year old girl living in an average American town. She likes to play with dolls, but she also like to play with her brother’s toy cars. Suzie takes dance lessons, but she also plays on a little league softball team. She started junior high this year, and her world is about to change. Many of her classmates are beginning to fall into the gender roles that are expected of them by Society. Suzie is not quite sure she is ready for everyday makeup and glam magazines, but Society is telling her that she should be. Thankfully, Suzie has a mother who is a firm believer that her daughter can be and do whatever she wants but hates that Suzie has to grow up in a world that has such strict gender roles. Many times Suzie’s mother has been referred to as a feminist, but what does that mean?

Feminism has been around since women decided to stand up for their rights. Women burned their bras, protested all the time, were thrown in jail, went on hungry strikes, and finally got their right to vote. But it didn’t stop there. Throughout history women have done their part to stand up and show that they are equal to men. As a fellow woman, I feel a since of pride when I look back at how these ladies stood for what they believed in. Unfortunately, even today women are still looked at as lesser than men. By no means, do I want to seem like I am trying to shove this issue down your throat, but I feel that it is healthy to discuss what is important to have in a resilient society. There are some common misconceptions about feminists. Many people think to be a feminist you have to hate men and not shave your legs. This is wrong. According to Webster’s Dictionary, anyone who wants to see equality between men and women is a feminist. It is as simple as that.

So, here are the facts. The AAUW, a women’s organization standing for access, advocacy, unlimited applause for women’s achievements, and widening our reach to women and girls, stated on their website, “In 2013, among full-time, year-round workers, women were paid 78 percent of what men were paid.” This is just one example of women not being treated as an equal to their male counterpart. About News tells us, “Only 17% of the seats in Congress are held by women,” and “although 48% of law school graduates and 45% of law firm associates are female, women make up only 22% of federal-level and 26% of state-level judgeships.” If the government was great and getting things done like they are supposed to, I really would not have a problem with these statistics. However, it seems that we should have more women being elected into the government because the group made up of mostly men really isn’t getting the job done.

Okay so here is the bottom line. We have to start caring about equality for men and women. I will grant that we are better than we were in the early 1900s, but we are definitely not where we need to be. Little Suzie should be able to grow up and know that she can be a doctor, CEO, or even president, and she would be treated as well as a man in those positions. We need to stand up together and bring equal rights for everyone. If not for me, then do it for little Suzie.