I consider myself lucky to be raised in a way that never made me feel inferior to the male species. I was given the same opportunities and expected to do the same work my brother did. No one in family ever said, "Hey, go get your brother to help me carry these bales of hay to the cows." Nope. Everyone carried bales, everyone fed feed, everyone was expected to clean their rooms, and everyone tried to get out of the same jobs equally: cleaning calf pens, washing walls in the barn, and emptying the dishwasher.
Being in Asia has been challenging. Here, being a woman can at times actually mean you are worth less-figuratively or literally. Anwer has always proudly claimed that his parents sent his sister to the same school as him and his brother. At first, I was like big deal? Now, I see. It is common for Indian parents to pay for better schooling for boys or not allow young girls to even attend school.
I always hated when people would ask, "Can I get some strong boys to help me....?" Why do they have to be boys? Girls can carry boxes. Girls can push things. Girls are people too. The first time I remember being outwardly angry about this was on a mission trip to Guatemala. They were always looking for boys to do this or do that. I knew that I was strong. I knew that I was capable, and I knew others around me were as well.
It happened in my school recently on a mission of the sorts: the Giving Tree. Our school arranged for over 800 bags of gifts, clothing, and school supplies to be given to a local migrant school. I kept hearing adults asking for "strong boys" to help carry boxes or move bags from one location to another. What is this teaching the girls? Sorry, you're not strong enough or able to carry these things. We don't need you? It got even worse when I found out that they did not have enough people for the trip and had to seek out some "strong boys" who were actually not involved with the charity project at all to come along to deliver the bags.
The way sport teams are often treated is a whole different bag of worms that I'll save for another time, but until then, let's start asking for "strong girls" to carry our boxes.
Being in Asia has been challenging. Here, being a woman can at times actually mean you are worth less-figuratively or literally. Anwer has always proudly claimed that his parents sent his sister to the same school as him and his brother. At first, I was like big deal? Now, I see. It is common for Indian parents to pay for better schooling for boys or not allow young girls to even attend school.
I always hated when people would ask, "Can I get some strong boys to help me....?" Why do they have to be boys? Girls can carry boxes. Girls can push things. Girls are people too. The first time I remember being outwardly angry about this was on a mission trip to Guatemala. They were always looking for boys to do this or do that. I knew that I was strong. I knew that I was capable, and I knew others around me were as well.
It happened in my school recently on a mission of the sorts: the Giving Tree. Our school arranged for over 800 bags of gifts, clothing, and school supplies to be given to a local migrant school. I kept hearing adults asking for "strong boys" to help carry boxes or move bags from one location to another. What is this teaching the girls? Sorry, you're not strong enough or able to carry these things. We don't need you? It got even worse when I found out that they did not have enough people for the trip and had to seek out some "strong boys" who were actually not involved with the charity project at all to come along to deliver the bags.
The way sport teams are often treated is a whole different bag of worms that I'll save for another time, but until then, let's start asking for "strong girls" to carry our boxes.
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