"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!"
I could not have said it better than Maya Angelou did with those words.
We have come to the 21st century and we say that we have progressed but there are aspects where we are sadly lacking.
We still have miles to go...
However, the aspect I will be discussing is one of Gender Equality.
We're still living with the ideology of compromise, not with the ideology of recognition.
We have people claiming superiority of each of the sexes. 'Women are greater than men', they say. 'Men are superior to women', they say. But where are the people who will say, 'We are all great and we can happily coexist in peace.' ?
Even in today's time and age, we are defining each gender by a set of predefined characteristics refusing to blur the lines. We still think that being a man means being strong,insensitive, work-driven and the like. We still believe that women are weak, sensitive and have no dreams. "To man up", "Don't be such a girl" is still being used. Why can't we "Human up" instead and give each person the respect and freedom they deserve?
Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong…it is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum not as two opposing sets of ideas.It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.
We've begun to raise daughters more like sons... but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters. Instead of raising the children as girls or boys, raise them up as Humans. Teach them the values, give them the space to be themselves, let them stumble, let them rise, give them a hand if you have to.
Let us stop adding to the stigma and let us judge each person based on who they are rather than their gender because the soul has no gender. In order to gain gender equality, women and men must work together, equally, to teach our daughters and sons to embrace our differences, respect each others' opinions, and remove stereotypes to what a girl or boy should aspire.
Foremost, we need a paradigm shift in cultural attitudes towards gender stereotypes. Everyone—both men and women —needs to step outside of their comfort zone and analyze how these misconceptions are clouding our judgment on a subconscious level. Our strategic mindset should not be thwarted by having these misconceptions seep into our every-day interactions, create artificial divisions between the genders, or prescribe a path rooted in tradition over reason.
Don’t let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do or achieve. Do what you want to do and be who you want to be. Just encourage and include each other, don’t ostracize the gender in front of you.
Gender equality remains meaningless until we consider it to mean that femininity and masculinity, when we consider the full scope of capabilities that they each afford humanity, are of equal value to society. Therefore, women who attempt to act out equality while suppressing their femininity do not prove equality but only the advantage of masculinity
Men are from Earth. Women are from Earth. Deal with it.
Remember, Gender Equality is a HUMAN FIGHT not a FEMALE FIGHT.
"No matter how dark the cloud, there is always a thin, silver lining, and that is what we must look for. The silver lining will come, if not to us then to next generation or the generation after that. And maybe with that generation the lining will no longer be thin."
I could not have said it better than Maya Angelou did with those words.
We have come to the 21st century and we say that we have progressed but there are aspects where we are sadly lacking.
We still have miles to go...
However, the aspect I will be discussing is one of Gender Equality.
We're still living with the ideology of compromise, not with the ideology of recognition.
We have people claiming superiority of each of the sexes. 'Women are greater than men', they say. 'Men are superior to women', they say. But where are the people who will say, 'We are all great and we can happily coexist in peace.' ?
Even in today's time and age, we are defining each gender by a set of predefined characteristics refusing to blur the lines. We still think that being a man means being strong,insensitive, work-driven and the like. We still believe that women are weak, sensitive and have no dreams. "To man up", "Don't be such a girl" is still being used. Why can't we "Human up" instead and give each person the respect and freedom they deserve?
Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong…it is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum not as two opposing sets of ideas.It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.
We've begun to raise daughters more like sons... but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters. Instead of raising the children as girls or boys, raise them up as Humans. Teach them the values, give them the space to be themselves, let them stumble, let them rise, give them a hand if you have to.
Let us stop adding to the stigma and let us judge each person based on who they are rather than their gender because the soul has no gender. In order to gain gender equality, women and men must work together, equally, to teach our daughters and sons to embrace our differences, respect each others' opinions, and remove stereotypes to what a girl or boy should aspire.
Foremost, we need a paradigm shift in cultural attitudes towards gender stereotypes. Everyone—both men and women —needs to step outside of their comfort zone and analyze how these misconceptions are clouding our judgment on a subconscious level. Our strategic mindset should not be thwarted by having these misconceptions seep into our every-day interactions, create artificial divisions between the genders, or prescribe a path rooted in tradition over reason.
Don’t let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do or achieve. Do what you want to do and be who you want to be. Just encourage and include each other, don’t ostracize the gender in front of you.
Gender equality remains meaningless until we consider it to mean that femininity and masculinity, when we consider the full scope of capabilities that they each afford humanity, are of equal value to society. Therefore, women who attempt to act out equality while suppressing their femininity do not prove equality but only the advantage of masculinity
Men are from Earth. Women are from Earth. Deal with it.
Remember, Gender Equality is a HUMAN FIGHT not a FEMALE FIGHT.
"No matter how dark the cloud, there is always a thin, silver lining, and that is what we must look for. The silver lining will come, if not to us then to next generation or the generation after that. And maybe with that generation the lining will no longer be thin."
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