As long as I have been politically conscious, I have been a feminist. Being overly aware of the ways in which women are oppressed is a grueling realization to have at a young age. It was something that changed my entire worldview, personal relationships and the way that I showed up in the world.Â
I remember reading “The Handmaid’s Tale” when I was 12 and feeling a deep uneasiness that I had never felt before. It wasn’t just that the events of the book were making me uncomfortable, but more so the parallels that existed between the book and the real world.Â
“The Handmaid’s Tale” is a Dystopian novel written by Margaret Atwood in which the United States is taken over by a patriarchal regime that overthrows the government. In this society, women are stripped of their rights, violated and made to be vessels that carry children for their commanders.
Reading this novel around the same time when President Trump got elected to office gave me a sickening feeling that I didn’t quite understand at the time. Looking back, I now know that Atwood’s novel opened my eyes to the existing prejudices that women face every single day.Â
Recently, with the reopening of the case at Cornell University, in which a woman identified as Jane Doe was allegedly drugged and raped by multiple men at the Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024, there has been massive uproar in the media about frat culture and how it impacts women. Those men may have been the ones allegedly committing the acts, but the other ~50 members in the Snapchat group chat where they discussed what they planned to do remained silent.Â
In college, many girls either have a personal experience of being assaulted or have a friend who does. It is so deeply frustrating to hear so many stories and reports, yet see nothing happen to the brothers in these frats or any man who has perpetuated violence towards women. Seeing how all of those men in the snap group sat idly by during this has made me realize just how normalized violence towards women has become.
Many men have the idea that they are good guys if they aren’t physically hurting women, yet they continue to stay silent when their friends or brothers hurt a woman. Staying silent is just as dangerous, and it sends the message that men can continue to assault women without consequence.
No matter how well I am doing in my personal life, there is always a lingering feeling of sadness that sits within me when I think about the reality that women live through.Â
Misogyny is so deeply embedded in our society, and it is impossible to ignore. I try my best to protest and advocate for women as much as I can, but it is hard not to feel hopeless. Women all over the world are tired. We want to see change, and we wanted to see it decades ago.