“I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman?”-Sojourner Truth Ain’t I A Woman.
"We've chosen the path to equality; don't let them turn us around." -Geraldine Ferraro
"Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got."- Janis Joplin
“If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down, these women together ought to be able to turn it right again.”-Sojourner Truth

Alright girls, we got our freedom many years ago. What happened? Why are we choosing to take the “damsel in distress” route? This world could not function without our mothers, sisters, aunts, and grandmothers to guide and help us. What is left of those women that fought so hard and risked everything so that we could be considered people? I’ll tell you what’s left. Teenage girls hate each other instead of help each other along. Women are clinging to the idea that they cannot function in life without a man. Sex appeal is more important than intellect and impact on the world. Why? If we cannot fulfill the full potential in our lives as women, all of the women who protested and defied the “man”, if you will, will have lived in vain.
Teenage girls, why do we hate each other? Usually it is out of jealousy. A thin girl will ridicule a larger girl just because she wishes she had curves. Believe it or not, bigger girls also ridicule skinny girls and it is probably just because they want to be thin too. “The grass is always greener on the other side.” We tear each other down because of appearance, when we should be there for each other. We should be the rocks that people can use as a foundation if they need it. Girls are torn apart by boys in high school. Unfortunately, those high school relationships usually do not last. Friendships that could have lasted a lifetime are terminated just because a boy came between them.
Women, we can survive without a man if necessary. Granted, no one wants to live a lonely life. However, survival is not impossible. Single mothers do it every day. Sometimes it is necessary, and women should not have to rely on a man. We should know how to do every day things. That is what women like the Grimke sisters, Sojourner Truth, and Susan B. Anthony wanted. If we were denied these rights for a brief time, we would want it too. If it were taken away from us, we would fight again. However, as things are going, we are letting it slowly slip away.
Our daughters and little sisters are growing up believing that appearance is the only thing that matters. Looking pretty eventually turns into sex appeal. Looking “sexy” becomes too important. Emma Watson said, “The less you reveal, the more people can wonder.” She is absolutely right. Every woman is beautiful in one way or another, but “sexy” has a completely different meaning. Children are glamourized on television and made to look like adults on shows like “Toddlers and Tiaras.” These little girls are being spray tanned, curling their hair, and wearing fake teeth just so a judge can decide if they are good enough. Are these girls beautiful or sexy? In my opinion, they seem to leaning more towards the sexy side. However, these are three year old girls. Is this what we want to teach our children?
Thanks to brave women in the Feminist movement, we are able to do jobs we would never have been considered for before. We are not done though. Although women are now able to hold these jobs, we have all seen the YouTube commercial. It shows a woman CEO, and a man CEO. For the man, the caption says “boss,” and for the woman it says “bossy.” Women are still looked at differently. However, we cannot degrade ourselves. We cannot accept it and say, “Well I’ll just be pretty, and someone else will take care of me.” The world does not work that way. It is perfectly alright to strive to be pilots, CEOs, doctors instead of nurses, architects, politicians, members of the Peace Corps, etc... In fact, these are the kind of goals we should be setting for ourselves. We must always strive to better ourselves and never settle.