Gender is a very complex topic. As a cis woman, I definitely know what it’s like to be at a disadvantage because of gender. I have been looked down upon many times before. I feel like there are certain expectations of me for how I should dress, talk, act, etc. I am glad that I live in a time in history where gender roles and the idea of gender are more relaxed than before. However, I think we still have a long way to go. I support the idea that gender is something each individual must decide on. I think there are more than two genders as well. I am not sure, though, if I think there is a limit or if the amount of genders are unlimited.
I think gender equality is very important. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard that women don’t belong in political offices because we are “too emotional and can’t handle it”. I remember being told that by my father one time while he was complaining about our governor and how she is unfit for office because she is a woman. I told him he could have whatever opinion he wanted about her, but that he couldn’t blame her “bad politics” on being a woman. I asked him if he thinks I could handle being in office since I am a woman, and he looked me in my eyes and told me no. I had never been told blatantly that I could not do something like that because I am a woman, and it honestly hurt me really deeply especially coming from my father who is supposed to support me with unconditional love. I guess maybe he figured I was too emotional, maybe I would freak out and start a war because I was on my period or something. But last time I checked, every war that has been started has been by a man.
Men complain about how they have been put under so much stress by the way society expects them to act like being very masculine, going to war, being hard working etc. Again, men were the ones that put that system in place. I am not saying that it’s right, I am just saying that you can’t blame women for that because we are not the ones that put that system in place. For most of history we actually didn’t have a say in much of anything.
I started coming out as bisexual when I was 16. I’ve known since I was a little kid but was raised in a catholic household where that was frowned upon. I remember sitting in the pews of St. Peters Catholic Church as a child begging in my prayers for god to not make me gay. I was so scared of the idea of going to hell. I felt like something was wrong with me. So, I tried my best to ignore my sexuality until I became older and fell out of my religion. I remember how freeing it felt to finally be able to say that out loud. Even to this day though, I feel insecure in my sexuality.
I feel like some members of my community look down upon me because I have never been outside of straight relationships. I went on a date or two with girls but nothing really developed from them because that wasn’t what I was looking for at the time. I have only really been with one girl and with all of that being said I feel like I am looked at almost like a poser. I am in a very happy and healthy relationship with my boyfriend, and I honestly hope to marry him some day. But I still hold onto my sexuality and I don’t think that makes me any less bisexual. I wish some people were less concerned with labels. I thought the whole point of the LBGTQ community was to be accepting, so why is my experience seen as less because I prefer men?
