COLUMN: Equal representation needed in U.S. Senate
As I sit here and look at the statistics over and over, my mind is blown.
Currently only 17 members of the U.S. Senate are women.
I thought my voice was being heard, but clearly it is not. I am being misrepresented in so many ways.
Although women make up 51 percent of the United States population, we are not represented this way in the United States political arena.
Yet, in other places around the world, women have had more political representation.
In 2010, there were 89 other countries ahead of the United States when it came to women in politics.
These statistics make me feel ashamed to be an American, but at the same time, they make me feel as though I have a job to do. I need to make others aware of this issue.
The United States prides itself on equality and justice for all, but we continue to struggle with it.
It was only recently that this information came to my attention, and I learned the fight for equality is continuing even in 2012.
I thought our society should have it together by now, but I thought wrong.
It was only weeks ago someone asked me if I was a feminist, and I was appalled. I thought to myself, “Do I seem like someone who would be radical?”
Then I became educated on what a feminist truly stands for. I learned a feminist is not out there to hate men or make it seem as though women are above all. A feminist is someone who wants equality for all people.
If it is that simple, then why didn’t I understand this concept before? Well, the answer is easy.
The media often portrays feminists as radical people, and it shapes our opinion of the term "feminist" into something with a negative shadow.
A number of men consider themselves feminists as well. There are many men proud to stand up and say they are a feminist. They believe their female counterparts should receive equal treatment.
This may be shocking to some people, but why shouldn't everyone want equality for all? Isn't that the end goal?
It is important to have equal representation in Congress, because if women do not have representation, then overall equality will never be accomplished.
Sure, we all can make a change, start to consider ourselves a feminist and become more open-minded about this situation, but in a democracy, permanent change comes in the form of legislation.
If there is not an equal representation in Congress, then the laws passed will not always represent equality.
