Why Is This OK?

When I saw this picture, my first reaction was: Ankles! I can see their ankles!

That reaction is perhaps proof that I have become desensitized to the absurdity and oppression that is a curse on millions of women around the world.

We're lucky in America where our biggest problems are (1) making 75% of what an equally qualified man makes in the same job, (2) having to make sure we park near the door and a light if we are not returning to our car until after dark, (3) worrying that we may have to travel across the country to terminate a pregnancy that may be threatening our life, (4) NEVER taking our eyes or hands off of our drinks at a bar, (5) wondering if the unknown person who rings our doorbell is a salesperson or a home invader, (6) knowing we are getting ripped off by a mechanic, (7) despite being more than half of the population, only constituting a small fraction of elected government position, (8) basically being second-class citizens in many churches, synagogues, and mosques, (9) enduring benevolent objectification from those churches who don't want us to feel like second class citizens, and (10) Sarah Palin (who is really, really bad for our gender).

But we don't have to wear burquas. We do not get beheaded, stoned or immolated if we are accused of sexual immorality (at least not legally). We are not forced to endure painful female circumcision. We are usually not forced to marry people against our wills. We have the right to vote, move around independently, work, and serve in the military.

I am seething as I write this, listing all the ways women in America are "lucky" because of all the freedom and rights we have compared to women in many parts of the world.

But men don't count what they CAN do. They count what they CAN'T do. (1) They CAN'T get pregnant. Everything else is the province of men. Everything. They can even lactate (with the right medical application).

I wonder sometimes what it would have been like to grow up literally thinking I could do anything I wanted. Anything. I could live anywhere, do any job, wear any clothes. That's freedom.

In America: Men are free; Women are lucky.