Women suffrage in the U.S. is still occurring in 2018. There is still unequal pay; an expectance of women to solely care for children; disbelief in rape cases; and discouragement in the STEM field for women. Why does this still happen? Did it ever stop?
Opportunities have slightly increased for women over the history of the U.S., but there should be more. In Hollywood, actresses do not all get the same attention as actors. In the Netflix movie, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, a side character, Noah Centineo, has recently been placed into a new role in the Charlie’s Angels reboot. However, the main character of the hit Netflix movie, Lana Condor, has not seemed to have as much success. Some have noticed how much people hype up Centineo, but there is an insistence on an equal or heavier support towards Condor because she played as such a fantastic main character. Women also need to be to be recognized.
With the recent Kavanaugh hearings, women who have been raped are still facing backlash for speaking their truth. It takes so much for a person to say what happened to them, and it is horrible to have someone not believe what happened, or it is even worse when a victim is criticized and mocked. Rapists can continue life and get married and have kids, but what they did in their past will always be inhumane. Victims can have a tremendously difficult time overcoming what happened to them, and while some may look successful and normal, only they know their painful thoughts at night. Women also need to be seen as human.
In the classroom, students may not recognize it, but most science and math teachers will show favor towards boys. Some advanced science classrooms will also have a higher ratio of boys to girls. Girls need to be encouraged to enter the STEM field as much as boys are encouraged to. Rosalind Franklin and Marie Curie are some of the famous female scientists in history, and they contributed tons of research and information. If women were not discriminated against in the STEM fields, perhaps there could be more scientific findings. Even in college, some professors seem to have more in-depth scientific conversations with male students than with female students. Women need to be encouraged.
Human trafficking is a major issue. Women are being treated as sexual merchandise and there are too many people ignoring this. As you read this, women are being sold as sex slaves. It is confusing and disgusting why more people are not concerned by this. Women are human-beings. We should not be objectified for the temporary, grotesque enjoyment of another human. Women need to be seen as human.
In everyday life, friendly people who make conversation with my boyfriend and I will look and talk to him, but rarely glance towards me. They will ask him how school is and ask what he is majoring in, but they will not ask me. I am merely an asset to this man. They are impressed that he plays football and is studying anthropology, but they do not know anything that I am doing. But it’s okay because they wouldn’t care even if they knew. Even when it comes to relationships I have with older adults, they do not care that I have overcome suicide; stayed away from partying; have overcome temptations; am majoring in Biology but teaching instead because money is not that important to me; have stayed in college with good grades even though my 3-year-old brother is struggling with cancer and heart failure; and have taken care of my 4 youngest siblings when my parents are away at St. Jude’s for days. When I tell older adults any of this, they say a generic response and ask about my 10-year-old brother or my boyfriend. I will say something about their football games or life goals and they will always give a grandiose congratulations to them. Something as small as a football game seems to be of more important than any of my life accomplishments and future goals. Women need to be encouraged, recognized, and most importantly, be seen as human.