Women's March 2017

Guys, I've really dropped the ball.

There have been so many things going on that make me think, "Wow! I should write a post about that!" And then I look into the topic more, and it upsets me and then I read reactions/comments from people and they make me angry, and then I get hopeless and I close my computer and snuggle my cats and complain about how I hate everyone.

Someone doesn't need to be a politically minded person to realize there is a HUGE divide in the United States right now. I never expected to live in a society with so much hostility and hate. It truly makes me sad. I know internet posts definitely exacerbate my anxieties, and that people allow their worst sides to come out while they are typing away in the safety of their own home, but it still sucks to see. No matter the subject, there are people out there who can find some way to argue about it.

Because of this hostility, I try to keep my blog as neutral as possible. This is hard, because there are things that come up that I feel the need to talk about that are tied to politics. I really want to stress going forward that I am not here to push a political agenda, nor do I have the patience to argue with anyone about their political agenda. If you feel the need to comment something regarding something you don't like, please go elsewhere.

That being said, the recent Women's March gave me hope. All day on January 21st, I got to see inspiring pictures of beautiful, strong women, holding up signs that expressed how they felt about the current situation in our country. It was also amazing to see tons of men attend the event as well. Feminism has gotten a strangely bad rap the last several years. Like any movement, there are extremists who make the rest of us look bad and give the whole thing a bad name.

The definition of feminism is this:

fem·i·nism

ˈfeməˌnizəm/

 noun

1. the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.

It is not the thought that women are better than men or that women deserve special treatment. Men are not evil and they are not the cause of all the problems in our world. Sometimes people generalize broadly and sometimes people take personal offense. The point of the March was to stand up for women's rights and therefore anyone was welcome to attend.

The main event--Women's March on Washington--took place on Saturday, January 21st at 10am, right by the US Capitol. There were tons of 'sister marches' outside of Washington--even in other countries. Individual cities held their own marches in solidarity with the March on Washington. All together, over one million people attended these marches across the country. Some news sites are even saying it is the largest demonstration in US history (though, I haven't been able to confirm this fact, so if anyone has information one way or the other, please let me know :) )

Of course, there are people who do not see the point of such a demonstration. Why do women (and men!) feel the need to advocate for women's rights in 2017??  Just think about how women are represented. We are still over-sexualized, starting from childhood. Women are still being attacked for breastfeeding in public (which is actually what breasts are for). Rape victims are still not taken seriously and rapists get very reduced sentences or escape jail time all together. For example--look up Brock Turner. And before anyone tries to argue, yes, men can be rape victims as well. Fighting for tighter laws as far as rape goes will benefit victims of all genders. Promiscuity still leads to women being called sluts, but men being celebrated. People still believe that a woman's vagina will become 'loose' from 'too much sex.' Women are questioned and harassed for being gamers or sports fans. People questioned whether or not Hillary Clinton would be a good fit for President because--what if she got her period while in office? (I'm not going to get into how nearly impossible it would be for a 69-year-old woman to still have her period.) Planned Parenthood has been under attack constantly lately, and politicians all over the country are trying too hard to get them defunded. Many politicians don't want women to have access to affordable family planning/insurance. Abortions are always a hot topic, and current President Trump and VP Mike Pence have been very outspoken about their opinions on it. President Trump has even made very sexist remarks during his campaign. Even my blog is targeted!! People seem to not like that I want to educate people on current topics or offer advice for their personal lives. I get tons of dick pics and messages requesting sex. The rights of the LGBT community are being threatened. 

These are just some of the many reasons we as women need to stand up and support each other. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend a march due to work. But I knew many amazingly strong people who went out and stood up for what they believed in. Here are some of my favorite signs from marches around the country. Also, I apologize for what is likely a crazy jumble of thought here. I'm sure many of you could put this all into much more graceful terms.

I love this so much. I'm a huge fan of all four of these guys (Jake Hurwitz, Ben Schwartz, Amir Blumenfeld, Thomas Middleditch) and I appreciate their support so much. (via @rejectedjokes on Twitter)