A few months ago, I was walking around Walmart after being sent home from work for being sick. I needed to get some medicine that the doctor recommended over the counter. Around that time, as if life wasn't already beating me up viciously, I had gotten a visit from Mother Nature, if you know what I mean. I had to by feminine hygiene products because I was running low at home.
I reached the health aisle and began to browse. As I was looking for my preferred brand, I remember hearing mumbling from behind me. I turned around and found two boys(they don't deserve to be called men) looking at me with disgust. Ultimately, I began to think that I bled through my pants, but I was wearing black pants and an oversize t-shirt. There was no way they could spot a stain. I resumed my shopping until one of them came up to me and asked me to shop for my needs some other time when there were no men around.
I tried my very best to not flip, but I flipped. I looked at the man dead in the eye and said that he and his friend were in the feminine care aisle; if my shopping for pads was bothering them, they can go somewhere else.
The point of this story is that I was angry at the two men because they were trying to shame me for being a woman and shop for my basic needs. If they were uncomfortable watching me shop for my needs, they could have gone to another department since we were in Walmart, or face reality. If they aren't man enough to accept the fact that women have menstrual cycles and need to shop for pads, tampons, sponges, diva cups, etc., how do they treat the women in their families. The truth is our mothers need their periods in order to be pregnant with us. So how would you would feel if someone looked at your mother, sisters, aunts, friends, significant others, or any other female in your family for buying what their bodies need?
This rant isn't just about periods(YES I SAID IT!). I have had friends tell me that they were slut-shamed because of the way they dress, or because they are open about their sexuality. For many years, I have seen men get praised for doing all the things we as females are told not to do because "it's not lady-like."
Why are women being penalized for what men are encouraged to do? Are we not all human? My father, who is literally my extremely tall and bald twin, has always told me that I should not be afraid to express who I am because of what others expect. That I am one of a kind. This is coming from a MAN who also believes that one should be judge based on who they really are and not by the facade they put for the world to see. This man, who has shopped for my feminine needs because he knew how much I needed them, has also taught my older brother the importance of respecting women because we are all human. Women have the same needs as men, so please don't slut-shame us for doing what humans do.
The suffragettes from the early 20th century did not fight for gender equality just so women could have the right to vote. The next time you see a woman shopping at Walmart for pads, leave her be. The next time a woman talks about her latest one-night stand, leave her be. The next time you see a woman showing off her outfit because she feels good about the skin she's in, leave her be. Women are human. Men are too. So instead of being rude and cruel, let's all be kinder and more understanding of our lives and fundamental rights.