Last Saturday, Women’s Marches were held all over the world. On my Facebook feed, I saw mixed reactions to the marches. I saw a few women who shared that these marches
and protests did not represent all women. I even saw the hashtag #notallwomen. Other women shared that they wanted to be there and were sharing positive posts about the marches. I saw both ends of the spectrum.

While scrolling through my feed,
I saw a picture, shared by a woman, that said women have more privileges than men. The four arguments were that men open doors for women,
men buy drinks for women at clubs, women get maternity leave and don’t get any sort of treatment for having
a child and that women can show certain body parts to get what they want. At the bottom, it said, “Stop Male Oppression!”

There are too many reasons for me to count as to why this disgusts me. But, I’m going to tell you a few anyway.

When a man opens the door for a woman, or anybody for that matter, it’s common courtesy. It’s not gender specific; it’s a nice thing to do. I for one open doors for other people all the time, no matter what gender they are. Maybe it’s the way I was raised, but either way, having the door opened for me is not a privilege. And it’s not really a hardship to open my own door anyway.

Now, I haven’t been to a club before, mainly because I’m not of age to drink and another because I don’t really want to, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have thoughts on the second argument. I’ve heard horror stories about men drugging a drink before they give it to a woman at a bar. Now, before you can say ‘not all men,’ it’s happened enough where it’s become a problem that shouldn’t be there. It’s happened enough where girls are afraid of accepting a drink from a stranger. That should not be the case. Women should not be scared to go out and have a good time.

It is true that women can get certain privileges when they are pregnant. The United States does not require businesses to give women maternity leave. I’ve known women who had to quit their job when they had their baby because work did
not allow for maternity leave. Now, there are companies that do offer maternity leave, but none are legally required to. Does that sound like privilege to you? Plus, men do not go though the body changes, hormone changes and child birth like the mom does.

Finally, women showing body parts is a weak argument. If a man is weak enough to give in because he sees a body part, he has no control. Girls are taught from a young age to cover up because a man might be tempted. I am lucky enough to be confident in my own body where I can wear what I want, but some girls are not as lucky and are very self conscious about what they wear. Women should not be policed on what they wear because it might cause a man to do something wrong. That is his own fault and he should take responsibility for it. Boys will not be boys. They will stand up and take responsibility for the stupid things they do.

These Women’s Marches were not held for no reason; women have been struggling to be equal to men for years. Men make most of the laws and rules that go into place that affect women. I know that women can run for office, but because women are still thought of as ‘moody,’ it is still harder for women to get elected.

Some women might not think any of the issues that are being talked about matter to them. But then you are probably a middle-class woman with a well-paying job with benefits. You might have a house and a car and don’t have to worry about when payday is and when bills are due. You might not ever have to worry about your life because you are well off, but not every women has that privilege.

Just because you personally don’t have to worry about these problems doesn’t mean other women don’t. Stand up for your fellow woman and demand respect. We deserve more than the $.75 to a man’s dollar.