Throughout history, women had been put down time and time again. We had to fight for the right to have even basic human rights, and even that didn't make us equal to men.

Today, we have younger generations of girls who are being put down but for different reasons. The media is telling little girls that they have to be tall, skinny, practically hairless and pretty. These girls listen to songs on the radio about the objectification of women, about body shaming, about being pretty. These girls are told through movies that consist of a team of men and one woman that being strong is a rarity for women.

There is an incredible need for strong women and strong female characters. These little girls need role models who are a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and personalities. Whether they be fictional or real women, there needs to be strong figures for the girls to look up to. They need real women like Carrie Fisher, Emma Watson, Beyoncé, Adele; and they need fictional women like Moana, Princess Leia, Hermione Granger, Princess Merida.

Representation is important to our growing generations, and while the media is getting much better at representing women, there is still a long way to go. We need all those growing minds, whatever their gender, to see that women are just as capable as men. Women are equally as strong, as smart, as willful.

That needs to be recognized.