By: Jacquelin Recano
Growing up as a little girl was never as easy or as fun as it once seemed. Later, I noticed how being a girl is so much more than just, glitter, pink, and barbies. It’s about independence, assertion, and creating your own feminine energy! When I was younger I was daddy’s little girl. I wanted to help my dad fix our dirt bikes, go play outside, and go camping. I also wanted to play with Barbies, but throwing the football was always more appealing. As I grow up to become a young woman, I see no issue with the ways I represent myself. But, I too, started realizing how society has and continues to title women as: caretakers, the reliable ones, lovers, emotional, and soft. Characterizing our identity to be gender-specific, rather than being characterized by our abilities and accomplishments.” What exactly do you mean here?
I mention that we may be creating these boundaries for ourselves. By saying things like… I can’t help but think of big movements and statements like: “my body, my choice” and “women rights'. By saying this I know people may have clocked out (clicked out), and your eyes may have grown wide, but be open to my side. Creating these comparisons and divisions, only leaves a space for “women'' and our differences, despite us (women) trying to be indifferent. This is, obviously, a touchy subject. And to each their own. But, an example is abortion. Now, I know that ‘cancel culture’ is also another part of society today, so for me to bring this up may be shocking. But, people should not only be allowed, but should be given the right to create their own opinions whether the majority agrees or not. Without criticism!
Me as a young, 17 year old girl, who’s always questioning “why”; can be seen as not credible, with no experience, or uneducated. But, to say or even think these things, is biased off yourself. To be quite frank, I was born into a catholic family with strong catholic beliefs. One of those beliefs is going against abortion, but I mention this to make it clear that this is not my reason for going against this stance. I want you to understand I have nothing to hide and I love hearing everyone's side. I have sympathy towards all who have been mistreated and forced into unwanted and non-consensual positions. My heart goes out to those who are now stuck trying to figure out the best way to deal with such a traumatic experience and a consequence they didn’t put themselves into. But to make the statement, “my body, my choice” and to not be put into that position, leaves no room for discussion. Being a pregnant woman, to have/want kids of your own, or to be a kid and make this statement, invalidates the whole cause. When overhearing the song, People So Stupid, by Tom MacDonald his lyrics stuck with me honestly! One lyric stated how, “Bacteria is life on Mars, but a heartbeat isn’t life on Earth. Weird.” It too is ironic because when being pregnant, it is no longer just “your body”, but also the potential little “girl” (or little boy) living within you (the mother), will have no say of her own body.
That too, it doesn’t only take the life of a baby but takes a lot on a woman's body. No one ever mentions the side effects abortion can create, and the toll it can take on a woman physically, mentally and emotionally. When going through with such a drastic procedure, it can set a horrific reminder. A little after a year from the potential procedure, the possible thought being, “today is one year”, “my baby would have reached one year old.”; and the following years who's to say it won't continue. I can't and won't ever argue against the woman who have been through the unexplainable. And I can’t imagine the fight they have to fight, not only against their abuser, but also the innocent child who unfortunately sets a horrific reminder. Yet, the difference between me and some people today, is that I will never be closed off and will never have any ill feeling towards others and their own thoughts. I will do my own research and create my own opinions, not based on popularity. Especially with something as drastic as this, it’s not something to take lightly. But, the fact that I feel the need to clarify and guard myself this much just to get my point across, says a lot about society itself today.
I too am a female with a reproductive system, and this is my take on this controversy, involving not only abortion, but cancel/woke culture too!
To bring it back, removing men out of such a big movement that not only affects a woman's life, is once again wrong. If men were to make a movement for themselves, I can imagine the backlash they would receive. I understand the fight, though making the main argument solely based on a “woman's choice”, also gives an opportunity for this power to be abused. People aren’t always thinking about everything with the purest intentions; some may be thinking about things as an easy way out for themselves and their individual benefit.
Speaking of making things easier for one's greater self. Years ago (and it's still arguable that still to this day), women have been discriminated against and belittled. To be specific, in 1964, an amendment was made with regard to disallowing discrimination against race and religion. But, within the original amendment gender was never a factor mentioned, until later. Interest groups like EEOC or AAUW, were made to include women instead of setting them apart. Not because women as a whole have done something wrong, but instead because women are different from the stereotypical white man; who for years, has been historically said to be the “most intelligent”, noble, and capable. We can notice this within our government and throughout the world. It has become easier for specific groups of people to gain power, by using anything like: race, sex, knowledge, or nobility to keep power to themselves and away from everybody else. This can also go for some women in today's time, feeling entitled to the right of taking a life, for no valid reason. When being granted this great power (to take another life), with little restriction and granted permission, it automatically allows this to happen (as if we aren't talking about another human life?) and lowering the standard of responsibility.
Despite this, is defending ourselves something we, as women, are standing up against as a natural reaction based on the past? To be on guard, and feel the need to take hold of all our rights so that the system doesn’t gain control with any given opportunity. As we are all human no matter our gender or race. We hear the constant saying, that voices need to be heard. Have the years of whispers not been enough? Is that the reason that now we are having to utilize things like kids, posters, action; all within protest to make them louder! Barely within the 70’s did gender inequalities decrease. When women have been degraded before, it creates a worry for these events of restraint to repeat themselves once again.
Growing up as a little girl and now growing into a young woman, I can formulate my own opinions just as everyone else can and should. Every little girl has this idea of how they wish life will go, whether it's wanting to be a princess or wanting to be a police officer; whether her hobbies are baking or going camping. There's more than one side, opinion, outlook, and view for every-single-thought or idea you can think of, and I have shared a few of mine. Controversies are never an easy topic to talk about, especially political differences. My overall intention of creating this piece is to promote open thinking and put out something different than what's used to being seen. Social media and society today (woke & cancel culture) has created this space, where it's not safe to stand out or be different from what's known as “okay”. Everyone posts what they think others want to see, yet no one is open to showing how things really are because of the worry of what others may think. I’m not going to sit here and act as if I haven’t acted on the impulses of teenage engagement on social media; only putting out what I feel others would want to see. When in reality, life isn't just what's put on a screen. Gabriel Iglesias in his new comedy output on Netflix stated that, “the issue with woke culture is they’re to come for people but never to educate”. I hope that by writing this I stand differently than what's normally seen, because I am me, and people should be able to be themselves and be able to openly share their beliefs.