I'm not going to lie; when I found out I had to look at a British newspaper and relate the theme with something we've talked about in my class, I got scared. What am I suppose to write about? What themes? I hate reading newspapers; do I really have to? Well, after looking through the website, one title caught my eye. An article written by Jane Martinson on the website for the Guardian, a British newspaper, entitled "The Everyday Sexism Project: A Year of Shouting Back," seemed to be a very interesting read. As I skimmed through the article, I found a theme that I could easily relate back to my class: Women's inequality. Now, please don't freak out on me; I am not a huge feminist, but there is evidence that my gender has been and is still one step behind our masculine opponents. While I was in my British Literature class discussing Aurora Floyd, we talked of ideology called Separate Spheres. In this theory, men are in one sphere and women are in a completely different one. The sad thing is that it makes sense. Looking at past times, we came up with the men's sphere containing education, government, alcohol, sex, work, and danger. The women's sphere included family, motherhood, the duties of a wife, passivity, meekness, home, and safety. Why is this so true? Why are we constantly placing women and men into these complete opposite places? What happens when one gender experiments with the other's sphere? They are labeled: gay, not enough of a man or woman, too this, too that.
You are probably starting to get curious about my article - and if you're not, well, that's too bad. Looking at the title of the piece I found should help you get a sense of what else I am going to talk about. "The Everyday SEXISM Problem". To sum it up, a woman set out on a journey to discover if women are experiencing prejudice and harassment. One year later (when the article was written), she looked back at her findings. Twenty-five THOUSAND entries from fifteen countries. If the number of replies doesn't shock you, then maybe what was in them will. A schoolgirl and a widow being pressured for sex. A female reverend not being able to conduct a marriage or a funeral because of her sex. A 14-year-old girl writing, "I am constantly told I can't be good at things because I'm a girl. That I need to get back in the kitchen. That all I'm good for is cleaning, cooking, and blow jobs." The messages that Martinson received weren't only from women, but also discouraging mail from men. One message read, "You experience sexism because women are inferior in every single way to men. The only reason you have been put on this planet is so we can fuck you. Please die." Why are women so much more prone to being the victim of this horrible type of harassment? Why are we constantly put under males? I know that this is not the case everywhere, but it is certainly a bigger problem than I had ever realized before. I am very proud of the courage it took for this woman to reach out and encourage others to speak up. What she has done not only created awareness for this disheartening subject, but it has created encouragement and hope for so many women who have just taken the abuse. Toward the end of the reading, Martinson finishes with some women's success stories. She took something that has been the "norm" for so many people and finally gave them a chance to realize that this isn't the way it needs to be. I have never personally been victim to said abuse on such a large scale, but it comes in all shapes and sizes. Just because we are a little different than the male gender does not mean we are anything less. Women are strong, independent, and beautiful. We are put on this world to become not just teachers and housewives, but owners of big corporations, truck drivers, and bankers. Sexual abuse should not stop anyone from doing what they love. It's time to take a stand like this lovely woman, and start reaching out to those who experience it everyday.
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