A More Supportive World for All Women
Updated: Mar 26
AUTHOR'S NOTE: By 'all women,' I mean to include all individuals who identify as women, including transgender women, as well as non-binary individuals and those who experience marginalization or exclusion due to their gender identity. I believe in the importance of inclusivity and respect for all individuals, and recognize the unique challenges faced by women and gender-diverse individuals in our society.
Did you ever wake up one morning thinking about something you wish would change dramatically in this world? I know I have as of lately. I’ve had something on my mind that I’ve held pretty close to myself since my middle school years.
Now some people may say, “Wait, wait, time out. Hasn’t the world already evolved enough and become more supportive of women?” Okay, well, if some people want to see it that way, sure, but I’m saying “sure” with a side of skepticism here. While some areas of society have seen noticeable (albeit slow) improvement over the years, the concerning reality is society always (and always will) find more ways to restrict, demean, degrade, and harass women into something out of A Handmaid’s Tale.
It’s both horrifying and disturbing to see the extreme pressures society puts onto women: from having to conform to a certain weight to being pressured to get married, have children, the list goes on. And that’s not all. Some people in society seem to glorify men who push women around with horrible sexism as if they’re some “hero of masculinity and manhood.” Gross with a capital G.
Let me now put this into a real-world example. Not too long ago I witnessed a former co-worker (whom I’ll call John Nobody) sexually harass a fellow co-worker (whom I’ll call Jane Somebody) right in front of me. Day in and day out. Naturally, kicked into high gear and I called him out John Nobody angrily said: “It’s the truth, dude!” While much of the verbal abuse John Nobody directed towards Jane Somebody is too graphic and unsettling to repeat in this blog post, I realized the world had not yet progressed from its misogynistic ways towards women.
To be fair, I understand not all men are like this towards women. But, I will always have a hard time believing some men who say they support women, women’s rights, and gender equality when they contribute to toxic discrimination and sexism towards women. To the fellow men who genuinely support women and women’s rights, I thank you. And to the many other men who get their kicks being part of The Misogynist Peanut Gallery, have a nice life being an immature man-child. The world is moving on without you for the better.
I’m not sure how other allies of women feel, but I’m beyond tired of society giving free passes to the small percentage of creepy creep men of the world disrespecting women as if everything gone wrong in this world is “the woman’s fault.” How would people – especially men – feel if it was a female friend or woman close to them receiving the end of some a-hole’s abuse? The most likely scenario for some people is they’d probably want to go Mortal Kombat fisticuffs on the abuser.
But as far as standing up for other women? Forget about it. It’s because their own backward, distorted truths about women seem to leave them without the decency to show sensitivity to stand up for women. You know what else is frightening? These same people believe women are only good for sex and being a servant to men. In other words, the old-fashioned 1950’s “barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen” mentality that never seems to go extinct when it should have decades ago. I don’t care who you are and whether or not you are a friend of mine: if you demean, harass, and physically hit women, you are not welcome in my world. Once you cross that red line there’s no going back nor any forgiveness tours. There’s a reason I’ve permanently ended friendships from a large number of people over the years.
Now, on to something more positive. If I could visualize a perfect world, it would be a world where women of all shapes, sizes, gender identities, sexual orientations and socioeconomic levels could wake up, go out and not be afraid of being judged for their looks or lifestyle choices. A world where women could walk into her/their dream job, whether it’s being a mechanic, astronaut, CEO, or software developer, and be celebrated for her/their achievements and promoted equally, free of discrimination or harassment. A world where a woman’s opinion is highly valued and not dismissed because “she or they’re a woman.”
And lastly, a world where society treats women as human beings with feelings and brilliant ideas instead of as some pervert’s sexual fantasy. In a sense, I’d love to see a world where women can be and express herself/themself freely. That is all I ask. Is that so hard for the world to accommodate? Because after all, this is not just a “man’s world,” this is a world for women too.
