By Marieliz Cruz
Warning: The following article contains sensitive content that might be upsetting for some of our readers. When I ask myself why being a teenager is so hard, especially as a young woman, there are so many life-changing struggles to consider that are simply a product of the social constructs built around being feminine. It’s expected of you to be perfect. To have a slim figure, to be curvy yet not ‘fat', and to know how to humble yourself and know your place in society. Despite how much you conform to society’s idea of being an ideal woman, it’s still just as difficult to be considered enough to receive recognition for your actions and accomplishments, and even harder to be looked at as a real person. It's hard enough that students have to go to school and have to deal with this on a daily basis while simultaneously trying to be a human with hopes and aspirations. Sometimes our peers (no matter how alike they are to us) even joke about our struggles and how we were perceived in society, maintaining an ongoing cycle of misogyny and perpetuating sexist stereotypes. When it’s surprising to a guy that a woman listens to a certain music artist or has a certain hobby, it’s pretty obvious that our male classmates are implicitly (or explicitly) biased against us. Women, or any gender in general, shouldn’t be uncomfortable or feel unsafe to come to school because of our peers. We are enough, and at the very least worthy of respect. It doesn't matter what people think or say this is what us girls feel on a daily basis. An incredible work of art that highlights gender inequality is a piece by Finley Brightwell, an award winning youth poet. No one should be feeling uncomfortable based on their gender in school or out of school. This is the reality of things. There’s even injustice in dress codes across the country where the rules are more strict towards girls. How are girls distracting to anyone if we're just trying to learn? The audacity of these rule makers who even came up with these ideas years ago to say we’re so distracting that you have to call a parent or guardian so we can change when you are the one distracting everyone by telling me or anyone to change is just not fair in my opinion. Phrases like “It’s a Man’s World” and “Boys will be boys'' are harmful and perpetuate inequality. I constantly see girls laugh something off when a boy says something inappropriate. At this point she is not laughing because it’s funny, she just doesn’t know what to say when someone is making her uncomfortable. Well now we go to school and learn to not take mistreatment, but that doesn’t mean everything is alright. There are women who are even scared to get out of their house. That should not be the case, we should not feel scared. My point is to encourage everyone to talk about topics like these so students understand and are able to educate themselves. This is not something to take lightly so please if you see a girl or any gender uncomfortable at school or anywhere please don't stay quiet. Stand up for them. There is this saying, “Boys will be boys” but here is the thing: Girls will be women, and boys will grow into men so I'll let you think about that. It’s all of our jobs to do our part in making sure when people grow up, they are educated on how to be respectful to people of any gender.
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