I think ever since I was a little girl I knew I was not made to live in a patriarchal world. I do not conform well to “man is the head of the household” idea. I have always been independent with a fire under my feet that no man could put out. I think part of that is contributed to the fact that I was raised by a strong woman. That strong woman had MANY faults and failures and yes at times my dad and step dad were present. However, a majority of my memories are from being raised by a strong woman. 

I want to be a strong woman and I will not be that if I remain silent.

This blog is not to attack men but to remind them that “because you’re a woman” is not an excuse to belittle us. But, since you mentioned it…

Because we are  woman:

• We will always be fighting two times harder for half of the things you get without asking.
• One of us will die every 90 seconds giving birth to your child.
• 1 in 4 of us will experience sexual or physical violence by the time we are 17 years old.
• We make up nearly 79 percent of all the refugees and displaced people on this planet.
• 600,000 of us are sex trafficked a YEAR.
• 603 MILLION of us live in a country where domestic violence is NOT a crime.
• The wage gap is something we actually have to worry about. 
• 1 in 6 of us will be a victim of harassment (92 percent of the time by a male superior) and not report it out of fear.
• We will be told we can’t do our job “like a male” can.
• We will be complimented by our looks first as if our actual characteristics are second.

BUT BECAUSE WE ARE WOMEN:

• WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN FROM YOU
• THE WAGE GAP IS CLOSING BECAUSE ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
• WOMEN ARE ENTERING MALE DOMINANT CAREERS AT A QUICKER PACE THAN MEN
• GENDER EQUALITY IS BECOMING RECOGNIZED INTERNATIONALLY
• WE HAVE WOMEN IN POLITICAL POSITIONS
• WE ARE CREATING SAFER WAYS TO REPORT YOUR POOR BEHAVIOR IN A PROFESSIONAL SETTING
• WE ARE TRAINING OURSELVES TO PROTECT AND DEFEND WHEN THE HANDS OF AN UNWANTED PERSON TOUCH OUR BODIES AND WE WILL NOT APOLOGIZE

Lastly, we are raising strong women. 

I may not see all of the changes I wish to in my own lifetime, but God willing I am given the opportunity to raise a young woman you will not silence her.

Because we are women, we are fire & you cannot make fire feel afraid.

This is not supposed to be a man vs woman world but it has somehow turned into that. Maybe one day this will be a “people” world and not divided by gender.