Valentine's Day, agreed, is a day to show your love for your significant other. But I'd just like to establish that if Valentine's is the only day you show your love, your relationship is not going well. And hey, just because someone doesn't love you the way you want doesn't mean they don't love you with all they've got. Chocolates and roses aren't the things that matter. Okay, now that that's over and done with, let's get to what I was really meaning to write about.
It's common knowledge that women are regularly disrespected, patronized, exploited, labeled, denied rights, paid less, and overall just treated as inferior. "Now, women in the workforce are more likely to have at least a bachelor's degree than not. They're also making gains in occupations that traditionally have been dominated by men: doctors, lawyers, scientists and professors, to name a few. Today, women in their early 30's are just as likely to be doctors or lawyers as they are to be teachers or secretaries." "While the gender pay gap has narrowed over time, women who work full-time today make 78 percent of what men make, on average. The gap is even greater for women of color: non-Hispanic black women made 64 percent of what men made in 2013, and Hispanic women earned 56 percent of what men earned." "Only 12 percent of protagonists in the 100 top-grossing domestic films released in 2014 were female, down from 15 percent the previous year. The percentage of female major characters (defined as characters who appear in more than one scene and are instrumental to the plot) was the same in 2014 as it was in 2013, as was the percentage of female characters with speaking roles (major and minor)." Every 107 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. Each year, there are about 293,000 victims of sexual assault. These rates are even higher in countries such as India, where 93 women are raped every day. Everyday, women are criticized about their bodies, and told they are not good enough.
It's common knowledge that women are regularly disrespected, patronized, exploited, labeled, denied rights, paid less, and overall just treated as inferior. "Now, women in the workforce are more likely to have at least a bachelor's degree than not. They're also making gains in occupations that traditionally have been dominated by men: doctors, lawyers, scientists and professors, to name a few. Today, women in their early 30's are just as likely to be doctors or lawyers as they are to be teachers or secretaries." "While the gender pay gap has narrowed over time, women who work full-time today make 78 percent of what men make, on average. The gap is even greater for women of color: non-Hispanic black women made 64 percent of what men made in 2013, and Hispanic women earned 56 percent of what men earned." "Only 12 percent of protagonists in the 100 top-grossing domestic films released in 2014 were female, down from 15 percent the previous year. The percentage of female major characters (defined as characters who appear in more than one scene and are instrumental to the plot) was the same in 2014 as it was in 2013, as was the percentage of female characters with speaking roles (major and minor)." Every 107 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted. Each year, there are about 293,000 victims of sexual assault. These rates are even higher in countries such as India, where 93 women are raped every day. Everyday, women are criticized about their bodies, and told they are not good enough.
But that's not all.
Men are criticized, too, though the situation is not as bad as it is with women. Men are told that if they don't have a six-pack, they are not "real" men. That they have to be tall and muscular. That they have to have facial hair. Society is still too focused on a person's outward appearance rather than their personality.
We are humans, not objects. And we are all built differently. Imagine a world where everyone looked the same. That would be pretty boring, wouldn't it? So, this Valentine's Day, go out and accept everyone for who they are and love them for being themselves.
For more, visit:
http://www.businessinsider.com/sheryl-sandberg-presents-mind-blowing-stats-about-how-and-why-women-hold-themselves-back-2013-2
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2014/10/31/women-more-likely-to-graduate-college-but-still-earn-less-than-men
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2015/02/10/presence-of-female-film-protagonists-declined-in-2014-study-says?int=a3d208
http://www.businessinsider.com/sheryl-sandberg-presents-mind-blowing-stats-about-how-and-why-women-hold-themselves-back-2013-2
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2014/10/31/women-more-likely-to-graduate-college-but-still-earn-less-than-men
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2015/02/10/presence-of-female-film-protagonists-declined-in-2014-study-says?int=a3d208
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