1958 is calling. Don't answer.

Yesterday (Saturday, January 21, 2017) was a beautiful day. Millions of peoples, across hundreds of cities, took to the streets for a Women's March. The signs, the chants, the costumery, the speakers, the goodwill and kindness... The anger was palpable and absolutely stunning. A great giantess has been awoken, and she is not going back to sleep.

Today, my cheeks hurt from smiling. My upper body and side-boob muscles hurt from Norma Rae-ing my sign around the capitol.* And my heart hurts from the realization that this type of rally is still so very necessary.

Hey baby, what's your sign?

What's that? ...Tired of hearing about the Women's March already? Did you hop on social media yesterday and feel bombarded? Already fatigued from the messages of protest? Burned-out on people and their causes? Irritated by some of the hokier demonstrations?

Well, if so, here is a list of things (in no particular order) that I'm sick and tired of as a women. Issues that still impact my sisters around the globe and get the gals riled.

1. The continuing gender wage gap - which, given how often salary increases are tied to current earnings, will continue to screw over current generations. BUT it's a tide we can turn, to give the future generation a fighting financial chance. 
2. Lack of representation for women in: political offices, the justice system (holla to RBG), upper academic positions (female college presidents?), corporate boards, high-tech fields, STEM occupations, etc.**
3. Violence against women. Domestic abuse, sexual assault, an acceptance of rape culture, et al. No one should live in fear of harm. The human body is a majestic organism that should be respected. 
4. The continual prodding at reproductive rights 
• Insufficient and inconsistent education about sex, contraceptives, birth control methods, etc. being given in school systems. Knowledge is power.
• No mandate for maternity leave (and a lack of support for paternity leave, too!) in the United States, let alone paid leave. If having time to meet your newborn is a concern of yours, ladies, you'd be better off having a baby in almost any other developed country than this one. And don't get me started about how being absent from the workplace for a pregnancy (you know, to bring a LIFE into this world, like a g'damn miracle) can impact promotions, raises, career advancements, and job security in general. And if there are after-birth complications or struggles with postpartum, well, good luck (the healthcare system and your company will likely let you down on those ones)! 
• Speaking of reproductive healthcare, oh boy, raise the inconsistency flag again! A mammogram, a pap, proper care during (and after) a pregnancy - for many women, these don't come cheap. Depending on your insurance coverage, even basic physicals may not be covered. 
• Free birth control (thanks, Obama) being threatened - if men could get pregnant, they'd have birth control in frickin' gumball machines. For everyone in a tizzy about abortions, making the Pill less obtainable isn't going to help. 
• The constant efforts to chip away at Roe vs. Wade. Accessibility to abortion shouldn't depend on where you live, and women shouldn't have to resort to less safe methods due to expense or a lack of clinics. 
• Go ahead, ask me about my ticking clock and I'll tell you how it's none of your damn business.
5. Holy shit, the cost of child care. Affordable and competent child care would make such a difference financially for families. Expensive child care is just one more way to try and force women back into the home, and it's malarkey. 
6. Double standards. Promiscuous women are 'sluts,' but boys are just being boys. In the workplace a man speaking his mind is 'assertive' and displays 'leadership skills,' but a woman is a 'bitch' or 'bossy.' Men can go running topless, but lord forbid a single flash of nipple show while a woman is breastfeeding. Also, let's not even get into the topic of body hair (remember how the bearded lady was literally a circus freak?? #neverforget) Rage rage rage.
7. Human trafficking and the sex slave industry. We're human beings, not property - Need I say more?*** 
8. General equality issues. I mean, thanks so much for allowing us to vote, but equality goes beyond the polls. Every belittling moment where a women's opinion gets pushed aside or she is referred to as being "just a little girl." Every cat call or assumption of "services" based on the proffering of a cocktail out at a bar. Every time a person is seen as less qualified or less worthy somehow due to their gender. We're all humans, let's start treating each other with some dignity already.  

All this and so much more, it's #WhyIMarch. So next time you're "over" the whole "protest thing," try helping us fix some of the issues we're trying to shine a spotlight on. Help us make our point. One voice is a whisper, many voices is a roar. We need all the voices we can muster to help improve things for future generations, just as the feminists before us helped affect the changes that we now reap the benefits of. They left the kitchen and started paving the way. We have to pick up the cause and keep building that path.

We can't go back.

The future is female.

*Seriously, John Cusack must've had huge side-boob muscles from toting around that boom box!
**In my high school "learn about jobs and being an adult" class (which was only a quarter long and clearly not sufficient enough), I will never forget my teacher telling us that the one thing she hoped for, above all, is that one of us would become a female firefighter. Because there weren't enough firewomen in the world. Next class reunion, I'll hold that failure over the heads of all the ladies. We let her down. 
***To quote one of the many amazing signs from the Women's March: "I'm a mind and a soul, not just flesh and a hole." 
**** HUGE note: yes, I know my privilege is showing. As an educated, white, middle-class woman, I know I have things pretty good. But just because things are "good" for me doesn't mean they're "good" for everyone and it's a slippery slope back down to being barefoot in the kitchen. United we stand, no matter our differences. We have to be the voice for the voiceless.