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Hi! My name is Siddhi Kabadi and I am currently a sophomore living in the Bay Area. Despite the fact that the Bay Area is one of the most diverse, welcoming and economically strong communities, you would be astounded by the amount of sexism and judgement that occurs. Many of us know what acne is and what it looks like, but what they do not know is how it can mentally, emotionally, and physically drain someone and bring them down. We all know the worst thing to say to someone dealing with acne, is to ask them about it or point it out. But now, it gets worse through social media. People that you may or may not know, can easily bully you by commenting rude things on posts or create a hate account for you. Social media is a very large platform, and because of this people can harass and torment you in many different ways.
I myself have struggled with acne all my life, and I still continue to so I understand how hard it is to walk around and have people look at you weirdly or judge you for what your face looks like. Acne is a part of life and everyone gets it at some point, and instead of embracing it and not judging people for having it why do we always result to bullying? People that you don’t even know can disrupt your self esteem by giving hate comments or by bullying you through the internet. We live in a society where the way you look defines you. Instead of changing this, we keep adding to this problem by continuing to judge people. Judging, bullying and harassing has become a trend in our current society and it needs to change. Instead of caring so much about the physical traits about people, we need to move past it and stop judging people. Only will we stop judging people will society be able to progress and evolve. Post published by guest writer Siddhi Kabadi
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I recently viewed one of my acquaintance’s Instagram stories and saw pictures of her at Pittsburgh Pride. I was very taken aback as I could never have imagined her being the type of person to go to pride. She was straight– but I never really thought that straight people couldn’t go to pride entirely, because allies are a big part of many queer people’s lives. They are able to provide a queer person the comfort in knowing that someone who is different than them still loves them for who they are. I realized that my issue with her decision of attending pride was not that she was straight, but that I had never seen her express any sort of support for the LGBTQ+ community in the past. She never seemed to be an ally.
To me, this is the one and only problem with straight people attending pride. I don’t believe in the idea that “straight pride is every day why do they need to take over our one day.” Yes, to some degree it’s true, but I think that straight people who have truly been allies of the community and have actively tried to help and advocate for their queer peers do belong at pride. However, when I see girls on Instagram using pride to post cute pics and do drugs– using pride for their own personal gain, instead of as a celebration of love and queerness– I get angry. You should only attend pride if you are an active ally for the community yearlong, not just for one day when they’re promised a good time. Pride isn’t just about putting fun rainbow glitter on your face, wearing skimpy outfits, and getting high. It is the one day in a year where a queer person can genuinely be themselves and be wholeheartedly accepted for it. It’s the day where queer people come together and celebrate love and living life without boundaries and binaries. Straight people can belong at pride, but only if not for their own personal gain. Start supporting the community you are benefiting from. Post written by guest writer Riya Gupta This June will mark the 56th year since the Equal Pay Act was passed. President John F. Kennedy
aimed to abolish the wage disparity based on sex. Even after half a century later, the wage gap has not come anywhere close to disappearing. In 1963, women earned only 59% of every paycheck that their male counterpart made; unfortunately not much has changed, in 2018 women earn only a total of 77 cents every dollar of their male colleague. It is thought that in a progressive country like America, such problems like these would not arise. Although the quality of work done by women and men is equal, the monetary value is not the same. In the past decade, albeit the support for gender equality has increased, the wage gap remains omnipresent in all industries. As power hungry companies are questioned for their discrimination, they remain silent and in denial of any biases that they hold. The wage gap changes as the women ages, usually being at its peak when women are in their 30s and 40s. What is so significant in this time frame? Normally, women become mothers, and this feeds into the predominant stereotype that women will leave their careers behind to take care of their children. While this has been proven false in many circumstances, companies still believe that this impacts the quality of work presented. Whether or not the women’s domestic lives impact their career, workplaces impose these stereotypical labels and domestic duties on their female employees. Worldwide, women are penalized for becoming mothers and are not even close to receiving satisfactory treatment after their maternal leave. On an average, during this timeframe, women are unjustly targeted and perceived as less committed to work and are less likely to be hired or receive promotions. This is one of the many roots of the cause of the wage gap that can be pinpointed. In its complexity, this unjust treatment towards women can only be seen when we take a step back to look at the bigger picture. Even with all the aforementioned factors of the wage gap, an extensive understanding on the major reasons cannot be deduced without overlooking several hundreds of other factors. The overwhelming complexity of the wage gap seems nearly impossible to wrap our heads around, but that is only the beginning of truly understanding the injustices that women face in the workforce. However, the wage gap is one of the hundreds of inequalities that women face in the workforce. In every industry, women are subject to face sexual harassment, unjust expectations, and objectification. The Weinstein scandal sparked a movement where multiple women came out and spoke about the injustices that faced. Many women came forward to talk about their experiences with sexual harassment at the hands of their bosses or colleagues. According to a survey done by the Cosmopolitan, 42% of the women working in the food industries and 36% of the women working in retails experience sexual harassment. The study showed that women from lower socioeconomic background faced this injustice. Many men established their hyper-sexualized view of women to install a sense of their superiority and the objectification of women. Unconscious biases are ubiquitously encountered by women in the workforce. These are the cause of why women face a great deal of adversity in climbing the corporate ladder. With the popular mentality in mind that women are less suited for power positions and are better off as homemakers creates a rift in the women’s efforts to advance in their career. In addition to this prejudice, the hiring bias and the promotional bias is also a large obstacle that women have to battle. Many studies show that women receive harsher judgements by their male colleagues, and they are expected to meet unrealistically high beauty standards. Due to this dominant discourse, women are forced to meet these beliefs in order to be more successful. Unfortunately, the data reveals that women who is conventionally beautiful, yet inexperienced is more likely to be hired or promoted than her competition, purely based on appearance. Once a woman is hired, she is held at a higher caliber than her male co-workers and must work twice as hard to receive the same benefits. Regrettably, after overcoming all the initial obstacles, women who attain higher ranking power positions are subject to face more mistreatment and misogynistic discrimination. The negligence of female success in the media and the lack of extended professionalism feeds the perception that women and men are not equals. In a patriarchal society, everyone is conditioned to see women as inferior and continue the mistreatment of women in workforce. Although women have to face the discriminatory doctrine and stifling stereotypes, we, as a community, must recognize that gender equality has a long way to go. Our efforts to understand and to take action on this brings us one step closer to achieving equality for all women in the workforce. Post written by guest writer Monica Manmadkar Find more of Monica at her blog: http://daysofmylifebymgm.blogspot.com A tableau of stages,
That last through the ages, Where her eyes gleamed bright, Into the darkness of night. First she had cheeks, With a wide, ebullient glow, Almost as pretty and lively As the dresses she donned in pageant shows. The Princess needs saving So cry for help and some other, All dolled up and smiling bright, I am but the evil stepmother. A tableau of stages, That last through the ages, Where her eyes gleaming a tired dim, With her being becoming beautifully slim. Her skin and spirit is beaten to be delicate, As she enters her silent age, She is told of 20 types of lipstick, Because a boy will keep her safe in the cage. She plays the fool, So she can attract the Misters, Other women tell her what clothes to wear, Because she is surrounded by poisoned stepsisters. A tableau of stages, That last through the ages, Where her eyes speak dreams unsung, As she is forced to hold her tongue. Dance upon this heavenly moonlight! Adorned by crowds of boys, Keep your slutiness in check, The masters are hunting for their toys. There are good men, I’m sure, But we’ve trained you to be told, So you’re 18, sit on the aisle, You’ll double your price if you grow old. Stand up straight! I forbid you of womanly feelings, If you were pretty, you could’ve been a model But here comes your savior, oinking and squealing. A tableau of stages, That last through the ages, From the kitchen window, the stars pass her eyes, Her life is filled with broken skies. She remembers how she wore it pretty, She remembers how style is all. Damn girl! Nice, tight ass! Don’t be a slut and drop the ball. Here she comes down the street! Queen of the House! Men leer and jeer, And the women mock her blouse. She bears wishes she never wished, But this is her destiny, For I have taught her What was the death of me. A tableau of stages, That last through the ages, Where her daughter’s eyes gleam bright, Into the darkness of night. Post written by guest writer Rohan Tripathi Hello! My name is Monica Manmadkar, and I am a sophomore at Mission San Jose High School in
the San Francisco Bay Area. When living in such a diverse and accepting community, my bi-annual trip to India was definitely a shocker. I was left flabbergasted at the amount of sexism that exists in these misogynistic communities. Seeing this type of treatment of young girls gave me a sense of responsibility in that I should shed light on the issue of girls worldwide not having adequate information regarding their sexual health all due to the cultural taboos that they are surrounded by. How do misogynistic communities affect adolescent girls going through puberty? In many countries, pubescent girls do not know enough about their reproductive health. The lack of sex education leads to a cultural taboo surrounding the topic of women’s health. This leads to higher rates of unplanned pregnancies, illegal abortions, and a higher mortality rate. As girls worldwide are transitioning into the womanhood, the onset of menstruation marks the turning point in their lives. Although this is an experience shared by women, it is still stigmatized. Unfortunately, many traditional cultures refuse to discuss menstruation, leading to a lack of sufficient knowledge regarding it. Cultures around the world have also developed harmful ideas surrounding menstruation. For example, many communities, especially ones with strict religions such as those in India or the Middle East, associate menstruation with impurities and restrictions. Due to this stigma surrounding personal hygiene and reproductive health, women all around the world, especially in developing countries, know little about reproductive health and their bodies. The major barriers for discussing sexual health are the socio-cultural norms that prohibit and condemn any dialogue regarding it. This causes a culture of silence and shame to form, which only perpetuates the patriarchal dominance in society. There are over 3000 research cases in India addressing how sex is viewed as culturally inappropriate and disrespectful; this unfortunately leads to inadequate knowledge about pregnancy. For example, a research report conducted in Mumbai analyzed how inadequate knowledge affects the generations to come. The report found that many girls received all the information regarding their personal hygiene from either their mother, other female relatives, or school teachers, which is good, but there is an offset of the relay of information. The information that is passed on through the generations is usually medically inaccurate and support the historically stereotypical comments. The survey shows that many girls were unaware of menstruation and later were not given sufficient information. Studies conducted in other parts of Asia reveal similar patterns in young women’s sex education throughout the continent. Due to this taboo, many women do not know how to fight against sexual harassment and rape, which thus causes numerous unplanned pregnancies. As a result of the cultural barriers, there are many women who feel unable to freely talk to their partners or other people about sexual consent and the purpose of sex. Their lack of education causes them to not have enough information regarding sexual intercourse and the contraceptives that are used. In a study in Delhi, India, many women reported to have been quite frightened on their wedding night and did not know what to expect. The statistics also show that many women had misconceptions regarding contraception, which in turn caused many unplanned pregnancies. For all survey participants, the discussion regarding sex and other sexual rights is considered disrespectful and culturally inappropriate. Buying contraceptives or other needs for a woman, such as sanitary napkins, tampons, etc., is considered as jeopardizing to the woman’s and the family’s honor. Each year approximately 125 million women get pregnant, but worldwide about 40% of all pregnancies are unplanned, which means that there are 85 million unplanned pregnancies. (Hussain) Insufficient knowledge of contraception and deficient resources in developing countries cause the number of unplanned pregnancies to rise, putting the health of hundreds of women at risk. Since the risk of unplanned pregnancies is higher than planned ones, the number of maternal deaths also increase. Among the millions of pregnancies that are terminated each year, 60% are carried out under unsafe conditions. Each year, thousands of women in developing regions die or are injured due to unsafe, illicit abortions. Several of the abortions that are conducted in these low-income countries are considered to be unsafe. Furthermore, out of the 25 million unsafe abortions performed every year, the majority of are illegal due to strict abortion laws in many countries. The risk of dying from abortion drastically increases, which causes over 68,000 women a year to die. When they are illegal, the citizens turn to unhygienic methods of abortion. The effects of unintended pregnancies are serious and need to be addressed. As a result of cultural taboos, many women worldwide, especially in developing countries, do not have access to information about their sexual health and personal hygiene. In order to provide a safe environment for the women, schools in third-world countries must place more emphasis on sexual health education. As a part of the school curriculum, it should be mandatory for teachers to educate the girls on personal hygiene, puberty, pregnancies, and abortions. The shame and silence within the community already harms women and limits them to learning more about themselves, therefore providing better education and understanding of menstruation was key to improving health outcomes for women. These taboos exist globally and are especially prominent and relevant in developing countries. A 2014 study by Femme International in Nairobi’s Mathare Valley slum found that over 75% of girls had little idea what menstruation was before they got their first period, causing them to feel scared, confused and embarrassed. Whether it be mothers not telling their girls about the birds and bees of life, or girls feeling uncomfortable to have the “talk”, these cultural taboos causes them to have a lack of knowledge, leading to an increased amount of unplanned pregnancies and unsafe, illegal abortions. Believing that everything is linked to education, schools around the world need to have a place where they can educate the girls on puberty and on how menstruation is a natural process. Nations also need to raise awareness about female health issues by supporting NGOs and other organizations, such as Girl Up and WHO, whose main purpose is to help out these nations by providing funds to educate females. This would result in the next generation of females having the knowledge they need to be safe when they are ready to have sex and for starting a family. By teaching sexual health to girls at a young age, we take a step forward in ensuring their safety in the future and ultimately, equality between men and women. Post written by guest writer Monica Manmadkar Find more of Monica at her blog: http://daysofmylifebymgm.blogspot.com Hi! My name is Nanki Grewal, and I’m a college student currently studying computer science in
the San Francisco Bay Area. You can imagine how exciting it must be to be studying something in the world’s capital of that very industry. Sometimes, I swear I can hear the engine of Silicon Valley churning away, generating new technologies (and profits) previously thought impossible. It’s undoubtedly thrilling to be lucky enough to be here at this point in history, when the tech industry is moving faster than the speed of light and with new world-changing technologies coming out every few years. But sometimes, even as I witness the huge benefits of Silicon Valley’s work and as I wait in anticipation to one day work for these corporations, I sit back and think about the actual implications of modern technology. I get so caught up in being a “tech bro” that I forget that sometimes, Silicon Valley ignores its moral responsibility for making technology an equalizer across a global platform, rather than the elitist culture it currently cultivates. I strongly believe that computer science is the greatest way to create a far-reaching change in the world. Nothing can go as far as efficiently as technology can. But sometimes, it seems that companies forgo that possibility in return for profit made off those who are already relatively privileged. For example, it’s much more difficult to create a tool that brings actual, useful education to rural villages in India than it is to create another app for getting food delivered to your home. Problems of the unfortunate are more complicated, and it seems as though the tech industry has settled into improving lives of those who don’t actually need that much change while ignoring the largest market they have: the globally disenfranchised. Don’t get me wrong – I think innovation for the sake of innovation is great! Artificial Intelligence research is fantastic and will have far-reaching implications in a few years when the rest of technology catches up. That’s actually the field I’m most interested in learning about and working in myself. But we, as a collective, need to reshape Silicon Valley (which I use as a metaphor for every major tech hub in the world) to have objectives which also include the poor, the oppressed, and the forgotten around the world. We need to start thinking about how technology can help education in communities where that is not usually financially feasible, help deliver clean water to drought stricken areas, do soil analysis on farms in even the most rural areas of the planet in an understandable and usable way for farmers, create apps for medical diagnoses and maybe even treatment in places where doctors are not readily available, and even more. It has been made abundantly clear throughout the years that Silicon Valley is reluctant to let women engineers through the door. A strong culture of toxic masculinity has permeated a space which should, in theory, be the most forward thinking and inclusive space in the entire world. Rather, Silicon Valley is surprisingly conservative, both socially and financially; it’s especially surprising considering it is located just a few miles south of downtown San Francisco, the crux of liberal culture. That’s why I think most start ups and mainstream technologies today fail to help globally disenfranchised communities – because people who might understand that struggle are never let through the door during the hiring process. Women who might understand the needs of working mothers worldwide are less likely to be hired in a space where their engineering ideas and feedback might lend to a solution that helps mothers everywhere; someone whose parents have immigrated from India and have witnessed and maybe even lived in extreme poverty are not given the same chance as their white American counterparts to maybe help those in poverty; those who are LGBTQ+ are rarely, if ever, heard from in the engineering room, never able to give feedback on AI algorithms filtering hate speech on Facebook; the examples go on. Thus, I think Silicon Valley’s path to worldwide success begins with major corporations being more inclusive towards women, minorities, and the historically oppressed. It’s only when you hear from people with different perspectives that you can create a solution for a problem that an entire group of people might be facing. There’s a joke in start-up culture: create a problem, sell a solution. I think that’s the loop that many corporations today have found themselves in. But there are so many examples of actual problems around the world that it is inexcusable for the tech industry to continue pretending otherwise. Financial liberation of women worldwide is a huge one. That’s something that really drew me to Ladki Love. It is a simple idea that concentrates on an issue much bigger than “which fast food we could have delivered to our doorstep today?” We need more ideas like this. Technology is meant to be a simple way to do what was before a huge task. There are plenty of huge tasks in the world, and I think we need to use technology to its greatest possibility. What makes me a #STEMinist isn’t just the fact that I think there needs to be more women in tech, but that I also think the solutions created by technology need to be geared towards people who have been long ignored, and who have been dealt a tough hand in life. The company’s culture needs to be equalized, but so does the actual tech it produces. Post written by guest writer Nanki Grewal Find more of Nanki at her blog: www.nankigrewal.com Many women and some men deal with severe food eating disorders such as Bulimia and Anorexia. Bulimia nervosa is when a person excessively binge eats and follows up with a method to avoid weight gain. Such methods include purging, exercising or fasting. Anorexia is diagnosed when someone is typically underweight from starving from fear of an obese body shape. Teenagers and young adults are primarily affected by these disorders. Though this problem is not as recognized as smoking and drinking, it still impacts our society negatively.
Approximately 3 in 100 women and 1 in 200 men suffer from Bulimia nervosa. These people often have severe dehydration and fatigue. Bulimia is considered as a life threatening disorder. Many people exercise or purge themselves until that are completely out of energy. 4% of people with Bulimia die from extreme weight loss methods. 1.5% of our population suffers from Anorexia and 10% of them starve themselves to death. Generally people suffering from Bulimia and Anorexia die in their sleep, so they never wake up after going to bed. The facts clearly show that bulimia and anorexia are much more prevalent in females compared to males. While women try to shape up to a model’s photoshopped body, men try to bulk up to a bodybuilder’s figure. Very rarely, males try to starve themselves to maintain a low body weight. Because our community focuses much more on sexualizing a woman’s body, female teens and adolescents are much more likely to end up with a food eating disorder. Research shows that young women in Fiji are encouraged to have round and thicker bodies; however, ever since TV’s appeared on the remote island , young girls have been developing eating disorders. These girls dream “of not looking like their mothers but the slender stars” in Hollywood. Within more industrialized societies, girls and women are much more likely to develop bulimia and anorexia. Why have eating disorder like these impacted our youth so much? Many blame it on the standards our society has set for our children. Expectations of young women and men have inspired unrealistic body goals. In order to achieve these body goals, adolescents and young adults take radical measures to control their body weight. Movie stars and super models use Photoshop to create a different portrayal of themselves. “Our media’s increased obsession with the thin-ideal and industry promotion of a ‘perfect’ body may contribute to unrealistic body ideals in people with and without eating disorders”; because of this, a majority of teens and adolescents have thoughts about body weight and some develop food eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia. With less discouragement and impractical body images from our society, much more citizens would be confident in their bodies. Another factor behind bulimia and anorexia comes from family problems or even abuse. Troubling relationships can lead to unhappiness and depression. Also, those who have a history of sexual and physical abuse have a higher tendency to be diagnosed with a food eating disorder. In order to compensate for all the difficulties, many strive for perfection in other areas such as their body images; this leads to bulimia and anorexia. There are a number of methods to treating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia. Visiting group therapy and support groups help with coping. Specialists like psychologists and nutritionists help monitor a patient’s health and diet. In patient housing is used for intensive care. Patients have a 24/7 access to a therapist and a nutritionist. With a more extreme form of help, many recover quicker than usual. Less intensive care, such as outpatient living, allows the patient to continue living independently but is required to be checked on frequently by nutritionists and physicians. As our society’s standards become illogical, our youth develop disorders such as bulimia and anorexia; helping them should be our primary goal. While healing current patients, we should also be working on ways to prevent eating disorders from developing in the future. Some countries in the world focus on preventing eating disorders by labeling the very few photoshopped pictures as “retouched” and requiring models to be at a certain weight before entering a competition or runaway. As a country, we can easily follow similar footsteps in order to prevent this disorders from happening any further. By treating current patients and averting future cases we can help our youth grow in a positive environment without worrying about their weight. Post written by guest writer Medha Dandamudi I feel like most of us have a mental image of what we think poverty looks like, or what tragedy looks like. When Ladki Love was first created, we moved forward with that preconceived image in mind.
Around a week ago, I visited one of the shelters that an organization that Ladki Love is donating to, "Homes of Hope," helped to build. In the days leading up to the visit, I began to feel inexplicably nervous. It wasn't until I was met with a room full of girls sitting in neat rows and over a minute of silence, that I realized why. I felt like I needed to say something profound and prophetic to these girls–– but I didn't know what. As the girls gestured to the row of plastic chairs lined up in front of them, I began to come to terms with the fact that nothing that I could say to these girls could make their situation any less unfortunate. Rather I sat on the floor and began to ask them some questions, eventually asking them who their first friend at the shelter was, and what they talked about. One girl raised her hand and pointed at the girl sitting beside her. She told me that the night she arrived at the shelter, her new friend asked her two questions: what her name was, and why she was crying. "I only told her my name," she told me. Regardless of the fact that these girls had likely gone through more than most could ever fathom, that answer was the first and only time during my visit that anything of low-spirit was discussed. Even the former was not necessarily negative. It was heartwarming to hear that the girl did not want to dwell in the past; rather she wanted to move forward with nothing more than her name and hope for a better future. We then began to talk about their hopes and dreams, and their talents. Many of the girls aimed to be teachers and nurses, while others told me about their goals to become a police officer, a social worker, and even a fashion designer. What's incredible about organizations like Homes of Hope and these shelters is that they allow for these hopes and dreams to become very plausible; two of the girls I spoke to were already well on their way to becoming nurses. I asked one of these girls if she knew how to sing or dance. She excitedly told me that everyone in the shelter knew how to, and that they could show us. The rest of the visit consisted of almost every girl in the shelter dancing. Each time a new song came on they'd yell as if they were at a party and it was New Years Eve. As they tried to teach my uncoordinated self to dance, I noticed how incorrect my preexisting image of tragedy had been. While I'm sure it was accurate in different settings, it wasn't universal. With each minute that we danced, I further began to appreciate this experience, the new friends that I had made, and the closing gap between us Indian girls like myself, and those that were not as fortunate. -Shruti Ladki Love is a non-profit organization focused on selling meaningful chokers and stickers, and donating all proceeds to support underprivileged girls in India, in their pursuits for a prosperous, enriching education. The word ladki translates to “girl” in English, so the club name is essentially “Girl Love”.
A common question raised by students not affiliated with the club is: Why is your organization only helping Indian girls, and not Indian boys? Shouldn’t all underprivileged children living in developing countries such as India receive an education? Well, of course all children deserve an education. In India, the fundamental concept of education is considered sacred and mandatory for all boys, who are thought to be the primary breadwinners for the family. Parents from even the lowest castes slog day in and day out as servants in the slums of India, sharing a small 10x10 sq. ft room with five other families, in hopes of saving every bit of money that is necessary for their children’s education. However, these servant families may have numerous children to support. If impoverished Indian parents give birth to two children, one being a son, and one being a daughter, they will only be able to support the education of one of these children. Since the patriarchal society signifies that the daughter is naturally inferior to the son, the parents will choose to educate the son. What becomes of the daughter? If she is lucky, she will be permitted to stay at home to help her mother. Otherwise, she shall be sent to an orphanage, accompanied by other beautiful, insightful, curious young girls who have been stripped of the opportunity to procure a basic necessity we take for granted in the United States: education. Another reason that girls are not permitted to attend school in India is the parents’ fear that their daughter will be subject to potentially harmful eve-teasing (violent catcalling, sexual slurs, molestation, rape) either while walking/riding the bus to school, or when coming back home. If there are episodes of sexual harassment or violence performed to a young Indian girl, she must remain silent, and not tell her family. If she tells her family, she will be banned from attending school, and blamed for somehow promoting or encouraging men to act in such a manner to her. She will be shamed for her choice in clothing, mannerisms, or weight. It is our mission to sell chokers with empowering symbols (Venus charm, Lotus Flower charm) and stickers showcasing the Venus symbol merged with the globe, in order to empower Indian women to not only have the financial means to acquire an education, but to also empower them to embrace their own beauty and grace. It is to bring awareness to the problems unique to girls in impoverished parts of India that our club is specifically named “Ladki Love” instead of “Children Love.” It's a cultural issue, but it is also a gender issue- we must never undermine the latter. Post written by guest writer Mridini Vijay In today’s society we are flooded with dystopian novels that characterize the persona of a strong female lead: Hunger Games, Divergent, Wonder Woman, the list goes on. Minds are filled with stories of heroines, creating a microcosm of the prevalent issues in which active voices of fierce women are vocalized on a global level in times of upheaval. The popular media and entertainment culture reflects the increasing desire for women to speak and act with courage. It’s alarming that just a few decades ago, a man would be filled with bewilderment and disdain if a woman were outspoken, as if being an assertive female is something undesirable. The number of women who have displayed courage and spoken up for themselves and for others is definitely increasing, but it is nonetheless overdue. It is the result of an ache for change, and a longing for equity. It’s foundation is built with the bricks of oppression and stereotypical expectations. Movements such as #metoo are empowering many to raise awareness. However being a strong, outspoken woman is not a hashtag, and it is not a trend of our modern society. In any instance of injustice, rights must be verbalized through a catalyst who is willing to run against the current and fight for change. That catalyst can mobilize and rally many to stand together.
We need to take a closer look at areas with a large gender disparity and campaign for changes at the youth level. Young women need to be better supported in pursuing a career in STEM fields, sports, and obtaining leadership positions. All facets of life (work, relationships, society, politics) must demonstrate gender equality on a global level in order for women to truly be respected for their contributions and treated as powerful individuals. Then only will our fictional heroines be replaced by the real life characters who inspire all and move us toward change. Post written by guest writer Sejal Govindarao |
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