I’m going to be really upfront with you, I am so tired of listening to men tell me why it’s not that bad to be a woman. You can tell me all about the “proof” you have that gender inequality doesn’t exist, and the pay gap is a sham, and “You’re So Lucky To Live Here And Not In Saudi Arabia”. Go ahead, tell me. Tell me more about how women can vote. And how there are female CEOs. And “There Aren’t Women Who Want To Be In STEM Fields And That’s Why There Aren’t Any.” You can say whatever you want to try and disprove the oppression that women across the country and across the globe feel, but I really just don’t want to hear it anymore. I’m tired of listening. I’m tired of not responding, simply because I know there’s nothing I can say that will make you understand me.
But I’ll do it one more time.
Because, if I can show you a picture, like the one above, of a room chock full of men, with not a woman in sight, making decisions about women’s health issues, everything you just said is invalid. At the moment, men and women have equal rights. However, at this point, celebrating universal suffrage is a lame excuse for a celebration. Woo hoo, everyone is part of democracy! Everyone can own land now, not just white protestant men!! Very cutting edge and exciting!!
Except that it’s not. It’s such a tired celebration, and women are tired of hearing how great it is that we can vote for our country’s politician. It should be a given that human beings have a say in the things that affect them. Which makes me wonder, where were the women in the discussion of women’s health? I know that being qualified for a job hasn’t exactly been a priority for the Trump administration thus far, but this is taking it to a new level.
The topic of this sausage fest of a meeting was government financial coverage of things like breast cancer screening, maternity care, and contraceptives. And of course, by coverage, I mean, cutting coverage. That’s right, a room full of people who do not have breasts, uteruses, or vaginas, was trying to completely cut financial aid for the upkeep of those exact things. But yeah, you’re right, gender equality is suuuuper real. Nothing says equality quite like the complete disregard for the life and wellness of the people that you’re supposed to be equal to!
But seriously, if you are a man, or identify as a man, you don’t really get to voice your opinion to women about the struggles they’re going through. We already have to deal with a disgusting amount of disrespect from the government that’s supposed to be making life better for us (Make America Great Again, anyone?), and we really just don’t need to deal with the unnecessary opinions of all of you.
