Rose G
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Do you think we are currently living in a good time for women in history? Will we look back at this time period in the future and say that there was equality?

I think that we are living in a good time for women in history. Is everything peachy when it comes to being a woman? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Things are far from being equal and I am not sure they ever will be (in my lifetime) but we are making progress (no matter how slow.) In my opinion, it is a good time because more people are aware of and understand that there is a problem. The information about current issues facing women today is available for a majority of the people in the WORLD to access.

Social Media
In most of our parents generation there was no such thing as the internet. Any information that they got was from newspapers, radio stations, the news, school and/or books. Today the internet is one of the best tools/resources to find out information about topics… FAST! With the help of social media stories about the harassment, oppression and inequality towards women quickly reach billions of people daily.

For example: If a woman is harassed on the street today she can go online and post about it within seconds. There is even an hashtag on Twitter dedicated to it called YouOkSis. Information like this quickly travels to anyone that looks up the #YouOkSis hashtag and is often retweeted over and over again across the Twitter platform.

Gender-based street harassment limits people’s access to public spaces and lowers their comfort level there. It can cause people to “choose” less convenient routes and alter their routines; give up hobbies and change habits; and even quit jobs or move neighborhoods or simply stay home because they can’t face the thought of one more day of harassment. – StopStreetHarassment.org

Recently there have been several campaigns about street harassment towards women. Social media was a great tool to spread the message about this issue. It was interesting to find that some people (mostly men) did not even know that this was an issue that women faced. I remember one man tweeted that he spoke to his sister and was shocked to find out she had been harassed on the street several times. Others stated that this was not even an issue because these men just wanted to “talk” to these women. They didn’t see a problem with it.

Unlike the harassment other demographics face (e.g. racial harassment, homophobic harassment, disability harassment), the street harassment of girls/women because of their gender is usually not taken seriously and few other groups address it. It’s seen as a joke, compliment, or their fault. In reality, street harassment limits women’s peace of mind and mobility, making it a gender equality and human rights issue. – StopStreetHarassment.org

Even though a lot of people do not see it as a problem all of the deaths that stemmed from a woman trying to avoid someone that was harassing her proves that it is a serious issue. Through social networking conversations are started that in the past never would have made it past a little snippet in the news (or newspaper.) The online resources available to us today inform and educate people about the issues women face today and gives more people a place to share their views on these issues.

The Future
With information being shared more frequently and to larger audiences it is less likely to be ignored. I am sure that if future generations compare this time period with the past they will see what was accomplished. The seeds of change are being sown and will prosper over the years. It will be interesting to see where things go from here.

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This post is a part of NaBloPoMo March 2015

Make sure you check out all of my NaBloPoMo Posts

Are you participating in NaBloPoMo this month? Let me know so I can read your posts.

What are your thoughts when it comes to women and equality?

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