Feminism Isn’t a Bad Word
Growing up, I was surrounded by men who looked at women as inferior and as sexual objects. I was used to men watching football games to check out the cheerleaders and making comments about their body parts. Calendars with nearly naked women hung on the walls, silhouettes of women’s bodies hung from trucks, and comments were made about how we would make a man happy when we grew up.
In school, girls were mean to me because I liked the same boy they did. It became a competition of who was prettier and more popular. It was every girl for herself, and they were ruthless. I lost close friends because we liked the same guy, those friends spilled my secrets to others to prove they were better. We didn’t even know what we were looking for at the time, we just wanted attention from the cute and popular guy. We just wanted others to know that we were good enough for him, which meant we were good enough for others too. Our worth was tied to the boys who gave us attention.
As I grew up, I wanted to prove to my parents that I was worthy of their love. I wanted to prove that I could pick a good partner and my partner became a status symbol. I didn’t think I was worthy of their time and affection on my own. I didn’t think I could be successful or have a happy life unless I had a man in life. I was the one bringing in most of the money, and I received promotions, but I still wasn’t good…