Age 12:
Sent home for a dress because it revealed my collarbones.
Age 14:
Forced to wear solid black leggings in the Southern California summer heat because my high school's women's teams were too scandalous with their practice wear. The football team passed us either shirtless, or with ripped shirts.
Age 18:
Shown a video of a fetus being aborted.
Was told "pre-ejaculation secretions" have the highest sperm count.
Was told our self worth would dwindle each time we had sex.
Age 20:
Was told I should feel "sorry" for the boy that groped me because those were the lengths he had to go to get some ass.
There's something to be said about the way we bring women up. My mother is one of the kindest, most gentle women in the world. In an effort to put her daughter in what she assumed would be the best possible place for my education I attended the beloved Catholic school system in my small town. She hoped placing me in an institution with a religious foundation would encourage me to be the greatest person I could potentially be. I can say looking back, Catholic middle schools and high schools are the perfect symbol for how America treats women today. For 13 years, the men and women I was forced to look up to reiterated the hatred and disrespect our justice system has for women.
Abortion is a choice that no woman wants to make. Abortion is also the option that no man has to face. It's interesting how we've paved the path for women in America. We refuse to educate our students and provide a mandatory, medically-backed sexual education. At 16, sexually active students assumed pregnancy could not occur if a woman was menstruating. At 18, I was shown images of sexually transmitted diseases, but was only told not to have sex in order to avoid them. In my early adulthood, I have been exposed to the horrors of our failing healthcare system. Being that I can barely afford a co-pay for strep throat, I could not imagine balancing being a full-time student, affording the cost of living in Los Angeles, and recurrent doctors bills. It seems that our nation is pushing more and more women towards sexual ignorance, which will inevitably lead to unwanted pregnancies.
There's so much to say about where we are; I have never felt more ashamed in my national identity. In every stage of my life, I have been shamed for my sexuality. Whether it be the clothes on my back or the resources I have, time and time again decisions to take away my rights have been made at the hands of men. I cannot find a logical argument to back the title "pro-life" for those that are stripping away women's rights. With a mindset comprised of viewing health-care as a privilege, higher education as a privilege, gun ownership as a right, sexual education as something that should not be mandated, AND abortion as "murder", it seems that white, wealthy men are the only individuals deserving of rights and protection. It is time to stand against the integration of church and state. Stand up for your fellow women and understand the damage that will come if Roe v. Wade is not upheld. Because it's all fun and games for the Chads of America until they look a tearful woman in the eyes and mutter the words "just get rid of it."
