Last week my boyfriend of four years cheated on me.
The number of times I have already said this statement is astounding, starting first by posting it on social media.
What shocks me more is the flood of texts, Facebook messages, and DM’s I received that day and the next from friends of mine. Everyone asked if I was okay. Everyone said I could text them or hang out if I needed to talk.
Most, men and women, said they knew what I was going through because they also had a significant other cheat on them.
This is when the problem became clear to me. As the Feminist Movement has gained ground, many people have shifted too far to the other side of the spectrum. We hear phrases such as “I hate men” and “men are pigs” when in fact men are not to blame any more than women.
Issues such as cheating, domestic violence and rape also claim male victims. This is not something that should divide people, but rather unite them.
It seems to me that the feminist platform has lost its original motive: equality.
I am the youngest of two daughters. Because of this I was taught to be skeptical. I have a ritual for when I walk alone at night, complete with a ready-made fake name. I walk with mace in my non-dominant hand, my car key squeezed between the knuckles of my right hand. I wear running shoes, just in case.
These situations we attribute to being a woman, especially as a college student. I thought this was the case until I talked to a male friend who also worries about walking alone. However, he worries about being mugged.
These two incidents taught me that the issues generally thought to be problems for women are actually not based on sex. These cases also brought into perspective the original goals of the Feminist Movement.
We cannot control every situation that occurs, but at least we can personally aspire to be better people and to care more about those around us.
Photo from Iowa State Daily