I'm not much for Valetines' Day - one year my lovely sister and I decided we were going to have the anti-Valentine's Day. So we drank some beer, ate Doritos and watched Sigourney Weaver shoot aliens in outer space. Fun times.
But on a more serious note, with Valentine's Day coming up I read this essay and starting thinking about women and how they get treated sometimes. Thankfully, misogyny and sexism have not been part of my everyday experiences. In fact, the phrase that we heard from our father most often growing up was "Why can't you fellas show a little initiative and help your mother out?" So, let's get those dishes done, shall we?
I was raised in a family with three girls, which meant that we didn't have any brothers around to fix things, lift heavy stuff or tell us how to behave. With two egalitarian parents, gender roles were not especially defined and now, as adults, my sisters and I haul amplifiers, load trailers with horses, finish drywall, cook, and take care of whatever else life demands.
But still, there was the time I applied for a mortgage and was told (by a woman, no less) that "that's not the way this normally works. Usually a man and a woman get married, and the woman has a baby, and then they buy a house." Not in my world, lady!
So, as Valentine's Day approaches, take a minute and think about the women in your life, what they have accomplished and how they are treated. Most people are caring and just, but there are still examples where women deserve more respect - and respect is the most powerful way to show your love for someone else, no brand name required.
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