Gender Equality

What I write today will by no means cover gender equality or inequality (depending on how you look at it) in its entirety; there is simply not enough room and not enough time to explore all the aspects of it. So what I write here are simply a few observations from a husband and father of a young girl. Let me start by saying that I believe that gender inequality still exists and will exist until all men come to the realization that women are actually equal to and in many ways superior to men. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not putting myself down here, women and men are different, each have their own strengths and weaknesses, but none of that should be a determining factor of inequality. Women deserve the same opportunities as men do and the world has come a long way in paving the way for women to participate on a more equal playing field with men. I see what my daughter is capable of and there is no way I would impede her from trying anything that a boy could do. So in many ways the inequality between men and women has diminished, but it is still stubbornly persistent and will not completely go away.

I think a big problem is the way men still speak about women, still tell jokes that are diminutive and derogatory, not realizing that what they say simply perpetuates the perception that women are somehow less than men. It isn’t all men either, but it only takes a few to perpetuate things and keep inequality from completely disappearing. Comments like “marriage is like prison”, or “we could never know what girls want”, or “that driver must have been a woman.” These stereotypes and phrases, amongst many others, uttered in an off-hand manner, merely keep women at bay, not allowing them to participate fully. What if the man uttering those phrases is really the problem? What if they are the cause of the marriage feeling like a prison? What if we as men don’t try enough to understand things from a female perspective? Its not that hard, we just need to realize that we are all human, all have needs, desires, and emotions, and we need to seek a common ground where men can come to see what it is like from a female’s perspective.

I’ve been taking more steps back recently to try and view things from the outside, from a neutral vantage point, and it is plain to me that women in all areas are still subjected to men’s derogatory remarks and attitudes. And yet, to speak up and counter those phrases when men speak them takes courage, presence, and a willingness to stick one’s neck out. Its not easy, but all men should try. I also see it from a father’s perspective, wanting every door to be open for my daughter and have no one tell her she can’t do something because she is a girl. I don’t know that she will have that problem, but I know at some point she will experience it the way other women have for generations. We have come a long way in our society, but we still have a long way to go. There is still a manosphere out there that is seeking to keep women as second class citizens when they really deserve to be everywhere a man is. Until that day comes and men can truly see that women do not just belong in the kitchen, then we won’t have realized our full potential as humans living together in a community. I hope we get there one day, I truly do, but it will take a communal effort on a global scale to do it. Yet, every big effort starts with a small one, so take some time today and make a difference for a woman in your life.