The news is covered with talk of the Stanford victim. This is not the first time the news has been plastered with this kind of talk and sadly, it won't be the last. To make things even worse, his father decided to add his two cents—well, if you can really call it that—to the mix. But I am not here to just focus on that one story. I am here to crack wide open why even though it's 2016 and so many people can see the leaps and bonds women have made, it isn't enough.
From a young age, girls are told to not be too flirty, not wear clothes that show too much and not to go places alone. In all honesty, to me, this isn't a bad thing—that is, if it is told both to the girls and the boys at that age. But once you reach junior high and even a few years before then, the school systems are putting education for girls on the back burner.
"Don't have your shoulders showing." "Those shorts don't hit your knees."And my favorite—"That piece of clothing is a bit too tight; you should probably change." Alright, girls, so basically your school is telling you to wear baggy jeans (but not too baggy because then we can see your bum) and a turtle neck sweater. Make sure it's not tight so you and your male peers can get an equal education.
What a load of crap.
This is ridiculous! How about we teach boys that women are to be highly respected? If her shirt is too tight and that bothers you, then look away. If you can't control yourself because her shorts go above her knees, well, then you need more help than any school system can give you—so you might as well dip out now to find help.
We either need to stop using women's bodies to sell products or we need to teach men to not be pigs. Both will be pretty hard to do, but as for men, I know there are many out there who aren't the same as those I am talking about. To those of you, I ask you to step up and speak up to your peers who just can't seem to see the world as you do. I know that I will not be silenced when it comes to not only women being treated fairly, but also men. We are in this together! One cannot thrive without the other, it is as simple as that.
We cannot act as if rape is still not seen as a "women's" issue here in the 21st century. We cannot deny that the importance of education is slipping because we haven't taught boys how to be men that respect women. We cannot deny that every day there is injustice done to those who are not a white male of middle or of upper class origin. We cannot deny that we are failing the younger generation by not pulling our head out of our rears and doing something to teach both girls and boys how to treat each other with respect! Mind you, I did not say "equal," because no matter what, there isn't an equal. We are different, but that is how it's supposed to be!
This whole article really comes down to respect, not equality. It is sad that respect has not only lost meaning to many but been altered to fit our own personal frame of mind. That's what the whole case of the Stanford victim comes down to also. Brock Turner did not respect his victim enough to keep his filthy hands off her, and he did not respect another human being enough to get them help when they were unable to help themselves. This is a hard pill for me to swallow. Our government does not respect every person that it is supposed to take care of, our school system does not respect that each student deserves to be educated without regulations—and we don't respect each other enough to stand up to both and fight not for equality, but for respect.
