YOU DON'T SPEAK FOR ME.

This will probably be an unpopular blog. Why? Because any female who is not pro-choice, pro gender-equality & pro feminist movement is dismissed and ridiculed.

Disclaimer - There are obviously multiple points of views out there - but this is my blog so it will be from my own 'married with children' point of view.

I am one of those crazy women that would have been more than happy in the 1950’s playing the happy housewife who cleaned, cooked dinner, baked pies, took care of the kids and made sure to have a cigar waiting for my husband when he got home. I would even probably have pretended to enjoy looked forward to rubbing his tired feet. I can’t even begin to imagine a lifestyle where those are my only responsibilities, and it was only up to my husband to work full time and worry about how to make ends meet. SCORE!

But this lifestyle can never be a reality for a lot of women these days due to feminist movements that advocated for women to join the workforce.

So women entered the workforce, and have continued to remain there... yet, still have the same responsibilities of maintaining home and family (because equality), which can be especially tough for single mothers, and women who have husbands that work offshore or away from the home a lot. Not everyone has been as fortunate in this department as I have been - so this is not me doggin my hubby ;)

I’m not entirely sure if over the years men decided they liked the idea of a dual income, or if the economy changed in such a way that made it necessary for women to have to work – but all I know is that in current times it is now expected & usually financially necessary for most women to work full time, even after having children and trying to raise their families. This of course has resulted in outrageous daycare bills that has major impacts on a family's bottom line. And for those who can't afford daycare, the infamous "latchkey kids", which can be dangerous on many levels but can also be bad because a kid who has way too much time on their hands and little supervision often spells trouble.

But anyway - there really isn’t much that separates a man and a woman in the workplace.

Except for salary, of course.
And title.
And Maternity leave.

I’ve worked in Human Resources before, and I can tell you for a fact that employers don’t love it when a woman announces that she is pregnant. Why? Because now the company has to worry about who will perform her job functions while she is gone, if she will even come back to work after her baby is born, and how many sick days she will use for the child in the future.

Keeping in mind that some women are single moms and do not have any help from anyone, or a woman has a husband who also works full time and doesn't have the flexibility to help....women now not only have to worry about maternity leaves, training a replacement, finding someone trust worthy & affordable to watch her child, having enough time off to care of her child when he or she gets sick, but now she also has to worry about looking bad to her employer because she has to juggle being an employee and being a mother. And don’t even get me started on the guilt a working mother has to shoulder when they start missing their child’s major milestones, holiday parties, & other functions, but most of all - having to disappoint their child.

So now women work full time…for less money, are full time mothers, & are more stressed out than ever.

Thanks Feminist movement!

Another wonderful thing we can thank Feminists for is the right to join the military. Although I personally have no desire to be a female in the military, I have absolutely no problem with women who want to join... until I'm lumped in with those women in the spirit of gender equality. So because some females wanted to join, now all females are at risk to be drafted. Even if it hasn’t happened yet, the talks are already there and it is probably just a matter of time before it affects our daughters.

While I’m sure that prospect thrills women in the feminist movement, it makes me furious. Why? Because these “Feminists” do not represent all women and they should NOT speak for an entire gender.

I’ve always been more than happy to have men open doors for me, I take it as a sign of respect and not a gesture that I am weak. OBVIOUSLY men realize we are more than capable of opening it ourselves, and they are trying to be nice! I hold doors open for people too, that doesn't make me a pig. I love when my husband or son takes out the garbage, because ew. I don’t want to mow the damn lawn, & I am not physically strong enough to do all the heavy lifting, so am more than happy to have a big strong man come to my aid. I would love to stay home, do laundry, cook, clean & look after my kids. I am a woman. I have no interest in being a man and doing manly things. I like manicures, pedicures, romantic comedies, pretty dresses, and being treated like a lady.

It is possible to be pro-women’s rights & NOT be a “feminist”. I respect the hell out of the women from the Women's suffrage movement, who risked it all to give all women the right to vote.

and I honor them by voting every chance I get.
No I don't think it’s fair that men get paid higher salaries, are more likely to get promotions, and don’t have to worry about the stigma that a pregnancy brings to them in the workplace. Although I would be more than happy to sit it out and let my husband climb the ladder while I stay home, since I’m in the workforce, I think it should be fair. Discrimination has no business in the workplace.

I think companies need better poilicies that allow for balance between work and family, including increased sick time for both parents, but especially for mothers. But that doesn’t mean I resent being a woman, or think every little thing that happens is an attack on femininity. So in the past, there were women who wanted to work full time, & join the military - which redefined expectations for all women....and now there are women who want the right to legally abort all their babies & advocate to diminish the differences between the men and the women – well, ok GO FOR IT…..but don't do it under the umbrella of a feminist movement. It isn’t fair to the rest of us women, who don’t agree with your views, don't share your same priorities and don't want to be directly affected by your “progress”.

I don’t think I’m less of a woman, or should have no say in women’s rights, just because I enjoy cooking a meal for my family, filling stereotypical female roles, and believe that boys and girls are different and should be treated differently. I don't think I'm less of a woman because I believe that the stereotypical female role is important and a lot of today's problems stem from adults who were neglected as children. I feel that the traditional role of what a wife and mother should be are every bit as important to society as tax free tampons. I resent the “feminist” women who tell me that I’m being oppressed and enslaved by societal stereotypes because I let my husband lead our household, or buy my daughter a baby doll, or because I don’t believe that abortion should be a form of birth control, or because I don't think it's cool to sign a girl up for boy scouts. I resent the “feminist” women who attack my belief system because it is different from what they believe. Women already have enough to worry about, but the fact that women are now being belittled & attacked by the “feminist” women who think they are somehow our superior in terms of morality is just hypocritical and sick. You can’t say you are fighting for women’s rights while attacking and shaming fellow women who don’t agree.

So while I think there are totally a lot of issues women should come together on, it's awfully hard to do when we are attacked for what we don't agree on. To all these women who keep trying to “speak for women” – shut up! You might be louder, more obnoxious and way more opinionated than I am ….but you do not speak for me. And even though there’s no chance in hell that you will ever catch me sportin’ a uterus hat...

I am still a woman, I’ve got my own opinions and I do NOT have to agree with you. There really should be another name for this modern day "women's rights" movement, because if you don’t speak for all women, then you aren’t speaking for women.

Oh, and I’m sorry you are a girl…but .there are medical procedures that you can take advantage of that will help you take care of that.