Recently a coworker of mine was overheard saying “women are there just to f*ck, make babies, and look good.” When I heard this I was disgusted, angry, and generally sad. The year is 2016 and men like him still exist in this world. Sadly this isn’t the first nor the last derogatory comment that I will hear in my lifetime.

I think men forget that a woman raised them. I bet my coworker’s mother would be horrified to hear him talk like that. Men grow up loving and respecting their mothers so why then do they not respect women as a whole? Why do they think it is okay to disrespect and disregard women? Why do they think they are superior to us? And when did being a woman become an insult?

I found myself asking these questions as I thought more about what my coworker said. It is baffling to me that men can be that ignorant. Now, I am not saying that all men are ignorant, because there are plenty of nice guys in the world, but to the men that think they are superior to women: this is for you.

News flash! You are not better than us. Anything you can do we can do as well. I am so tired of men thinking we cannot do something because we are women. What does being a woman have to do with whether or not we can change a tire or mow the lawn?

We are not helpless individuals. In fact, most of the time we hate asking for help because you always make us feel weak. Some of us may need help changing our tire but that does not make us weak or stupid or helpless.

Again, just because you can change a tire and some of us cannot does not make you better than us. You need to eliminate the phrases “for a woman you do a pretty good job” and “that’s interesting coming from a woman” and my personal favorite “woman don’t know how to drive”. Every woman should be treated the way you treat your mothers. We deserve to be treated with just as much respect.

It is frustrating and infuriating to live in a world with men who don’t consider women their equal. Woman were not put on this earth just to make babies, have sex, and look good. Some of the most successful people in the world are women.

So, to the men who agree with my coworker, I feel sorry for you. To all the ignorant men in the world, it’s time to change. Would you want another man talking to your daughter that way? I didn’t think so. And finally to my coworker, your feelings about women disgust me and I really hope you don’t kiss your mother with that mouth.

I pray for the women and children who are in your life. I know I said men aren’t better than women but I, as well as every other woman on the planet, am better than you. Women have made a great deal of progress in history but clearly some men have not.