I have heard many arguments recently about the topic of feminism and why women should have the same rights as men do. I have not only been at a complete loss for words with some of these arguments, but some of them have also made me think about why women and men should be equal.
It all boils down to one thing: we are all human. We shouldn't get treated as less of a person just because we were born one sex or another; it makes no sense as to why this is something that we have to fight against anyway.
I have heard arguments on topics within feminism such as equality in pay, equality in education, and even equality in physical fitness and agility. Women are really not that different from man; one has a pair of chromosomes that are XX and the other has a pair of chromosomes that are XY, and besides the physical differences (which are for the purpose of reproduction) that is really all that is different about us.
A discussion topic in my Introduction to Criminal Justice class started a debate amongst myself and some of my peers, the question that was raised asked if we believed that men and women should be held at the same standards in police academy physical agility tests or if they should have different standards (this being asked because people feel as if men are superior to women physical and in terms of agility).
A few students stated that, no they should not have the same standards because women are not as strong as men and that men wouldn't want a female duty officer because they wouldn't be able to protect themselves, causing their male counterparts to pick up the slack.
I find this completely bogus since physical fitness and agility can be trained; practice makes perfect. There are definitely women out there in the world who could out-perform a man in many physical fitness or agility tasks. Men just decide not to use those women as examples.
When I asked some of my other peers this question (on difference of standards) they had the same views and opinions as the students in my criminal justice class. So I decided to ask them why they thought this and if they stood the same grounds on things like education or the pay gap, they stated that, no, women should be treated as fairly as men. I then continued to tell them that their idea on the difference of standards stated otherwise. They decided to carry out the 'everything they've done for us card'.
"Women should have the same rights as a man because of everything that they've done for us. I mean without women, we wouldn't be here. Respect them because they gave us life."
So, what they were saying was that we should give women equal rights because they are mothers and that they have the ability to give life.
We, as a society, need to rethink this.
We need to give women equal rights because they are human, not because they are mothers.
Treat people the way that you want to be treated.
It would be a quick fix, I promise.
It wouldn't even require that much energy.
Just treat them with the same respect that you expect from everyone else.
