As a twenty-something female living in the United States of America, I am not unaware of the distinct opportunities I have. I am not blind to the wealth of knowledge available to me, the forward-thinking counterparts my country offers, and the women who've gone before me to make it such for me.
As a twenty-something female living in the United States of America, I'm frightened. I'm not unaware of the hundreds of thousands of times, every day, that myself and other women are subject to the whims of our male counterparts. We listen to their crude remarks, remain silent as they taunt us from parking lots, bars, and classrooms, even endure the growing issue of victim shaming.
Why?
Because, as any woman who's endured these 'ordinary' male behaviors will tell you, it's not safe to break that norm. That's when the labeling begins; the words I don't need to list, because we all know these slurs.
The truth is, we women, and some men, know exactly what this phenomenon is rooted in. It's a cultural misconception that we're raised with: 'boys will be boys.'
Funny, isn't it? Boys were once expected to grow into men. Girls are certainly expected to blossom to adulthood rather quickly. We are expected to grow to maturity in our kinships, romantic relationships, not to mention our abilities to balance education, career, and, eventually, motherhood.
And yet, what does our society continually depict as a typical male development? How I Met Your Mother, Friends, even The Big Bang Theory center on men who've maintained an exaggerated grasp on the 'college lifestyle:' drinking, casual hookups, and those oh-so-dreadful 'locker room talks'.
And now, after being a firsthand witness to this inequity for most of my adult life, I am now seeing some of my male counterparts insist that I haven't earned the right to vote, while they have.
One of the beautiful principles around which our country has been molded (albeit imperfectly) is an equal vote. I have to wonder if any of these boys, if that's what they insist on remaining, have recognized that their ridiculous battle cry of "#RepealThe19th" is just that; a silly call to arms, shouted belligerently from behind the security of their various computers.
What are they fighting? Are they fighting women?
Are they fighting because they believe themselves to be our superiors?
If that were true, why do they fear our vote? Why do they fear our input?
Is it possible, just maybe, that what they're truly afraid of is that we may be right? That we may be seeing through a cultural flaw that might force them to recognize us as their equals?
I'm not sure I'll ever understand the men who choose to propel this notion that we women are lesser, but I am all the more concerned with women who've taken up the banner.
Do they truly believe that we shouldn't have a voice? Or is it simply that they feel so strongly about a particular candidate that they've yet to realize what they're truly saying?
The irony in this, of course, is that, were they to get their wish, they wouldn't be allowed to wish for anything of the sort. They wouldn't be allowed to wish for anything.
So, my fellow Americans, as much as the heat of the election might stir passions, please, please think about what you're spreading. Your tweet, or status, or conversation will feed a cycle, one that only inflames the negative tensions between the sexes.
