"Girls and Women in the U.S." by Allison Hayes
The biggest issue for women and girls in the United States is the way media and experiences as children teaches us we aren’t as capable.
In seventh grade, I was a part of the middle school basketball team. Each day after school, I would go to the locker room, change for practice, and go to the gym. In the middle of the gym was a dividing wall. This wall split the gym into 2 equal sections. On one side was the girl's practice, and on the other side the boys. Although the wall split the gym into 2 mathematically equal spaces, they were not the same. On one side was an outside-hired basketball coach, and the other side had a teacher. On one side there were decent basketballs, while the other side had a mix of basketballs collected over the years. On one side there were posters, while the other side made these posters. I bet you already know which side was ours. Once a year the girls wouldn’t practice and the boys would use the whole gym. The girl's basketball team would report to the coach's classroom and would each be assigned a boy on the team to make a poster for. These posters were then hung on the wall in the gym on the side with the good basketballs and the real coach.
But where were our posters?
Now I am not saying that the biggest problem for girls in the U.S. is not having posters made for them, however, this example reflects the major issues in the United States. There are men and women (and others who dont identify with either) and we are split. The wall is not just diving us but it is representing a lack of knowledge. On one side there are people that need rights and on the other side, there are people taking them away. On one side there is a young woman that needs an abortion and on the other side, there is someone telling her I don't care about you, only the life you are capable of making. One side makes 82 cents and the other makes
a dollar. Once my mother told me about her former employee who had overheard a conversation of a man interviewing for the same job, and he was offered more than her. As young women and girls we are fed information about the do’s and don’ts and can’s and cant’s. You can’t wear that to school but you can wear that. You don’t want to distract the boys. But if you want them to like you…
The list goes on and on.
In my eighth-grade sex education class, we were taught many things. We were told to cover our drinks and to carry self-defense items. We were told that if you don’t want to get pregnant use birth control and what to do if you're sexually assaulted. In that class, we watched a video on birth. Among the quiet snickers of the boys in the class sat the girls who were terrified.
I am still young, and at the age of 15 years old, I have learned so much about life. I am lucky that with the combination of an all-girls school and a feminist mother, I am able to look beyond social norms for women and see the faults. But not many girls are not as lucky as me. Some people get so invested in the stuff they are told as a child that at a certain point the biggest problem is themselves. When asked the question about what is the biggest problem in the U.S. for women, I will never know what to say. We are surrounded by issues and inequalities. But these problems start at our roots. If we want to fix problems we need to set examples for young girls that they are as capable as their male peers. Once we fix the mindsets of young women, we can slowly start to rebuild equality. When women are in power, we can succeed. This generation of women has to be led by women who are strong and will fight for their beliefs. I someday hope to step into that gym again and see two coaches, two racks of new basketballs, two sides who are supported the same.