Women and Inequality

I cannot believe we are still having the conversation about women and equal pay.  I cannot understand why people are so surprised when men are stay at home dads or women decide to give custody to the father of their children, even when they do so because they feel their kids will be better provided for or that they would like to pursue a career after years of raising their children. I find it offensive that women who are actresses have more difficulty getting a role and that given the same age as a man are looked at as too old and not as marketable.  But for me the most idiotic thing is that women who date or marry younger men are frowned upon and given a name like "cougar", an image of a woman that describes her as an animal, all be it a beautiful one.  We don't need statistical information to prove that women are not treated equal and that the women's movement is as important today as ever before.  While in the past women's liberation was more overt and Gloria Steinem was a concise, clear voice for women today the voices are less in our faces.  Yet it seems to me that we as humans should have a larger voice and be asking ourselves why there is still a disparity between how women are treated and valued and that we are still treating men as if they were more important and more valuable.

I continue to be surprised at how a man who is not very attractive could have a women who is stunning in their lives.  We don't see as many women who are not as attractive with men who are stunning.  In fact it is rare to see a woman who is good looking to be with a man who looks like a model or as it is in some cases, a real model.  There is so much more emphasis on women being attractive and the criteria for being voted as attractive has to do with size, stature, pretty clothing and how sexy they are.  It is not fair that women have to live up to expectations that men do not have to worry about.  Men can be overweight and be considered sexy yet women who are fuller figured are considered "fat" and not attractive.  It is obvious that we have a long way to go so that the perception of women can change to a more realistic one.  We still believe that the most beautiful woman is a a size 4 and it seems as though each year the expectation of being tiny or skinny is even more unreasonable.  Yet what we don't get is that the majority of women in the U.S are a size 14.

The violence against women is truly devastating to me.  We are still addressing violence against women and it does not seem to be getting any better.  Now there are more shelters for women, stricter stalking laws and some stricter penalties for an offender yet it seems there is something missing.  The something that is missing is men's involvement.  Men must become a part of the solution and men need to be the first to support women when they are sharing their concerns publicly.  We have to be willing to take a stance against violence towards women and do so until it stops or until the violence is reduced dramatically.  The only way to stop violence against women is for men to put themselves in the place of a woman because after all every man is born of a woman.  Men have to defend women in every way and stop the violence in every part of the world.

What is the answer to healing inequality in our society?  The answer is collaboration.  We must all unite to ensure equality for women and fight for what is the truth, that men and women are equal and that women deserve to be treated with respect.  The answer is in millions of men who are passively sitting in the background that must come to the foreground and become women's advocates.  The answer is in our daughters who teach us to be more in touch with that side of us that one might think is too girlie but in fact is the feminine side of men.  Those men who are in touch with that nurturing and gentle side are the ones who understand that men can be the solution to a human issue that needs an application of love and that once and for all must be resolved.