A few days ago I read something while aimlessly scrolling through Facebook that really caught my attention. It was a shirt being sold that read, "A Woman's Place is in the House and the Senate". It was kind of amazing. What really got me, was the fact that it is 2017 and women in the United States of all places are still fighting for people to recognize that they can be important too. This isn't the early 1900's, a woman's place isn't in the kitchen anymore, it's wherever she damn well pleases.
See, I grew up in a house where my grandpa was in charge and my grandma had to listen to what he said. If he asked for supper, it better be ready by the time he was hungry, and if he needed anything she had to drop what she was doing and do what he needed. It was how they had both been raised; him to see women as supportive, and her to not see an issue with being practically subservient. The world kept turning and for me growing up, I saw absolutely nothing wrong with my grandpa thinking that women only belonged in the kitchen or in the bedroom. It was normal for me too, mainly because he never quite said those words outright. He hinted at them and made sexist jokes (which were totally lost me at the time), but at the same time, he would tell me that I was born to be the first woman president of the United States. He was constantly pushing me to do and be better, to become anything. It's kind of a confusing message now that I look back at it.
Not to condemn my grandparents, let that be a disclaimer here and now. Both of them loved each other and lived with each other for over 30 years, raising a family. The way they lived was the product of how they were raised. The way my grandfather saw women was based on how he was taught as a boy, and that, while wrong, is understandable. What we have to do now, as the younger and more "open-minded" generation, is to erase the idea that women here or anywhere have a "place". Women don't exist for the sole purpose of serving. We are strong, smart, compassionate, and capable.
By teaching our nieces and nephews, our sons and daughters, and even by trying to teach our parents, we can alter the world view. We can stop the notion of women only being useful in two rooms. We can stop the "make me a sandwich" jokes. We can allow for everyone who makes a difference to be seen. For the thousands of women out there who are scientists, doctors, teachers, and so much more. Your place is where ever you would like. Your worth is not defined by archaic gender norms. You belong right up alongside the men who would like to tear you down because you are the heads of a new world order.
A world where a womans place truly is the house and the senate, or whereever else she pleases.
