Most women can probably relate to the following:
Adults yell at young boys for not being chivalrous toward you.
You're actually pretty strong, but they never let you help with the heavy lifting. That job is reserved for the boys.
An authority figure has made a sexist remark to you. (During high school Driver's Ed, my instructed remarked that a women behind the wheel of a huge car was driving erratically.)
Frankly, I am pissed.
Not until the last two years have I been aware of being a women subject to society's perception. I do not consider women the weaker sex. But, at times, we carry on like we are.
Recently, while Pokémon hunting in the local park, my sister insisted we stay close. She kept nervously looking around and demanding we leave despite the surplus of Pokémon and lack of danger. I told her I wasn't scared.
"Emily, you're a tiny, little girl, do you really think you can fend off an attacker?"
She was right: I probably couldn't. But I shouldn't have to think whether or not I can beat up a faceless figure. Women shouldn't have to carry mace or walk with keys in between their knuckles. My mom shouldn't have to worry if there is a seemingly harmless man outside and she has to leave me home alone.
My mom often makes it an issue to be left home alone at night, claiming she's a women. Even during the day, she never opens to door to an unknown male.
I tell myself that I am not in danger, that I'm perfectly capable of defending myself. Even so, when I go out alone, I unintentionally echo my sister and mother's concern.
Not all men intend to hurt women. But we sometimes act like they do. 46 percent of women share this concern.
Is it unfounded or justified? Do women truly have more to fear or is it a socialized reaction?
Manhattan Borough President’s Office set up an online survey inquiry into sexual harassment on the New York City subways. The 2007 survey found that 63 percent of the 1,790 participants, two-thirds of whom were women, reported being sexually harassed and one-tenth had been sexually assaulted on the subway or at a subway station. Although this survey does not have an accurate sample, it suggest subway sexual assault occurs too often.
In January 2016, Shugoll Research found that of Washington, DC transit riders, women were three times more likely than men to experience sexual harassment.
Overall, though sexual violence has decreased by more than half since 1993. Yet women remain of 90 percent of rape victims. On the not so bright side, a women can experience harassment in the comfort of her own home since 55 percent of sexual assaults occur at or near the home.
Maybe society still considers women the weaker sex. But, society does not dictate how a woman chooses to carry herself. Keep that in mind.
