We Don't Just Sell Cookies.

Girl Scouts. I've been a GS since I was a kindergartener, excited about joining Daisies, looking forward to wearing the uniform and earning patches, badges, pins and awards. Sure, cookies sounded fun, and yummy, but I was looking forward to earning things more than the cookies.

So it's no surprise that I get peeved when someone asks me when I'm selling cookies condescendingly when I say I'm a Girl Scout. Like as if that's all we do, is sit around at meetings and plan our next cookie sale. We only sell cookies once or twice a year. You don't see Boy Scouts pestered about when their next Popcorn Sale is, so why abuse us Girl Scouts so?

In Girl Scouting there are a lot of great things done. Girls are taught about leadership, self confidence, and a variety of subjects ranging from math and science to art to fashion to health to horses. There is something for everyone to do. I learned the basics of horseback riding and how to make roses out of icing in the same Girl Scout level as a Junior at the same time I was learning First Aid. As a Cadette, in seventh grade, I planned, and ran a Halloween Bingo event for over 200 Girl Scouts with only my also seventh grade best friend and fellow troop member, which helped me earn the Girl Scout Silver Award, the second highest award possible for a Girl Scout to earn in 8th grade.

Girl Scouting helps in plenty of ways that are important in a girl's life when it comes to health and safety as well. GS designs programs to help girls with various problems they may face in life, from workshops on self defense and how to identify abusive relationships to sessions to teach about illnesses women are at risk for such as breast cancer. There are Interest Project Patches for older girs to earn for learning about self defense, rape prevention, etc. and even for younger girls, there are books availible about the basics for safety and dealing with strangers who are bothering you.

I wouldn't be the same person I am if I was not a Girl Scout. With Girl Scouting, I had someone to encourage me to think for myself, to be myself, and to do the things I love to do. While sometimes the lessons didn't stick, I still learned them, and had a place where they could stick, even if at school it was hard for them to. Girl Scouting has given me countless opportunities that I have taken, and even more that I didn't have time to take advantage of. I have earned the highest and second highest award (I will recieve my Gold Award in a few weeks after singlehandedly running a series of poetry workshops for kids, holding readings at a local daycare center and running two poetry blogs for a local library, a project which I sold my soul to last summer) and met people that have inspired me to be myself and the best I can be. I have learned plenty of lessons from Girl Scouting, and not many were about cookies.

So there, stereotypers, so there.

It Should be Considered OK to say the F-word... FEMINISM

So to all you guys and girls out there who consider FEMINISTS to be a bunch of man hating, bra burning lesbians who are just angry about everything and all those other stupid stereotypes: THIS RANT IS FOR YOU!

First off, the bra burning thing is JUST A LEGEND..... It is true, at a demonstration, bras, girdles and other women's clothing items were thrown in a garbage can, but there is no documented evidence of burning. For proof, check it out:
http://www.snopes.com/history/american/burnbra.asp


Anyway. Look, here's the thing. We are not just a bunch of stereotypes. Some of us love wearing make up, some of us won't even consider shaving. We are as varied as normal people, and plenty of us are not even lesbians, some feminists have kids, some husbands...

I am a feminist. I believe in gender equality and that no one should be judged for their sex or gender. I believe that no one should be told to get a certain job and to avoid other workplaces simply because of their sex, and I believe that laws should respect everyone, that there shouldn't be discrimination against one sex. Now, a lot has improved since the feminist movement began, and I am grateful for that. But I am not going to say that feminism is useless now, because it is still very important. Women are still being paid less in the workplace, and still have troubles in certain male dominated workplaces, and still are portrayed in a lot of ridiculous and unfair ways by the media, and this sickens me.

I AM A FEMINIST:

This does not mean I hate men or am a lesbian. In fact, I date guys. I might tell them I want to pay for myself sometimes, but I still date them. I don't get angry with them and want to punch them for opening the door for me, either. I want them to respect me for who I am if I date them, but is that really much to ask for? I don't consider someone worth dating if they try to make me change things about me that make me me, not because I hate men, but because this guy doesn't respect me. If a guy gives me grief about being a feminist, well, they're missing out.

This does not mean I don't shave. In fact, I'm practically an obsessive compulsive shaver. I can't handle being too hairy. I just can't. It's a mental thing, probably a result of some other thing, but still. I'm not hairy.

This does not mean that I burn/hate bras. In fact, I love bras. Bouncing around is no fun. It's uncomfortable, and bras keep the bouncing under control. Not to mention, some of them are so cute looking! XD (sorry if that note was TMI)

This does not mean that I don't wear make up or like fashion. In fact, I love looking for cool skirts and cute tops, and I have a blast messing around with eyeliner and mascara to emphasize my eyes.

This does not mean I am always angry or bitter because I "can't get a man." That's just bullshit. I'm actually a very happy person, most of the time.

This does not mean that I think it's a disgrace for a woman to be a wife, stay at home mom, mother in general, etc. etc. I think that that is for the woman to decide on her own. If being a housewife suits her, and makes her happy, that's what she should be. If she'd rather be, say an engineer or have some other career, that's what she should be. What Feminism means to me about careers or lack thereof is that women should be able to be whatever they want without suffering pressure or mistreatment by society.

This does mean I hate sexism and gender inequality. I do not think I should be judged by the fact that I have boobs and, um... You know. I hate that I am judged by how feminine or not I am, and I hate that these things can affect whether I will get a job or be paid as much as a man.

This does mean I hate the way women are exploited by the media. Can I PLEASE see some men in the cleaning commercials who are COMPETENT in the housekeeping world? Can I PLEASE stop seeing women as sex objects and either housewives or whores?

This does mean that on some level or another, I believe a woman's body is her own and that she has the right to decide if she wants to have children. Now, in my personal life, I am pro life based on my religious upbringing, but I know that not everyone has the same beliefs as me, and that I should not tell someone they cannot have an abortion simply because MY God tells me I shouldn't.

This does mean I hate rape, abuse, and other forms of violence against women. I believe that it is WRONG to mistreat someone in any way, and that we should fight domestic violence, mental, physical and sexual abuse, and rape and help train others in how to prevent it and what to do if it happens.

LGBT WE JUST WANT EQUALITY!

So, this rant is about LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) rights.

Now, there's a lot more letters that can be added. Q for queer or questioning, A for ally or asexual, T can also be transexual (though some people don't consider that politically correct), P for pansexual...

But anyway.

If there's one thing that is a problem in today's society it is the fact that the LGBT community is mistreated. Gay marriage is considered illegal in all but a small handful of states and isn't recognized federally, in many states anti discrimination laws do not include protection from hate crimes based on sexual orientation, and as we have seen in the news recently, bullying people using language such as "gay" in a negative connotation is causing depression and suicidal thoughts on schoolchildren. This lack of understanding of anything that isn't heterosexual is affecting many Americans.

Gay Marriage. I know several people who currently would not be allowed to marry someone they love and are committed to, simply because of an idea that marriage is between a man and woman only, simply because gay marriage isn't considered "normal" or "moral." I know other people, who include myself, who have only a 50% chance of marrying, depending on what sex that their true love ends up being. Anti gay marriage supporters claim that gay marriage will lead to things like polygamy and will ruin family values, but honestly, the important thing about family is love. If I had to choose whether a child should be raised in a family run by a loving gay couple, or an abusive straight one, I know the child would be better off where they could be loved. And as far as the "sanctity of marriage" goes, I'm sorry, I find gay marriage between two loving partners far more sacred than a straight, drunk one night stand wedding in Vegas that gets annulled a week later.

Homophobia. Ugh, I hate homophobia. Let's put it this way: I understand for a lot of people, it depends on how you are raised whether you will be homophobic and all, but it disgusts me that groups like the Westboro Baptist Church insist that gays will go to hell, and that God hates anyone who supports gays. It horrifies me that some people will raise small children to grin as they hold up signs saying things like "God hates fags" and similar horrific things. Homophobia isn't always as extreme as WBC, but it can still be really bad. A large number of LGBT teens feel unsafe in their schools, or unwilling to express their sexual orientation, because of bullying resulting from anti gay feelings of peers in schools. Some teens report missing school because they felt they were in danger there due to homophobic bullying.

Schools/ Sex Ed. Now, if there's one thing that I've noticed, a lot of schools don't talk about sexual orientations at all in school. Sex Ed is strictly about heterosexual sex. Sexual orientations are not explained in classes. I didn't hear the terms 'gay' or 'lesbian' until I was in sixth grade. I didn't hear about bisexuality until eighth. I spent a good year or so trying to figure out if I was straight or a lesbian, which was terrifying for me, because of the lack of explanation of sexual orientations. Now, I'm not saying homosexuality should be forced down the throats of students. I mean, that already happens with heterosexuality, and it's horrible. I just want for there to be diversity, equal amounts of time teaching about these things in school for gays and lesbians as well as straight kids. If we don't talk about this, how can we promote tolerance?

Anyway, the main thing about LGBT issues that needs to be addressed is tolerance. Without a start of tolerance and willingness to acknowledge the differences in sexual orientation, and acceptance and support of these differences, no progress can be made. How can we get gay marriage without support of allies and others who support us? How can we get an end to discrimination and hate crimes without acknowledgement that these things are very real and very wrong?

We need tolerance. We need to work together to help with LGBT equality. We need everyone, be they gay, straight, transgender, bisexual, lesbian, anything. It is not a movement for "just the gays" but for everyone who supports equality.

So don't tell me, "Oh, I'm straight, why should I help? I support it, but I shouldn't be involved." Yes, you should! I don't care what your sexual orientation is, if you support us, THAT is so incredibly important to the cause!

So c'mon! Help out with LGBT equality! Write letters, go to marches, participate in days of silence, write letters to senators, governors, presidents about why you support LGBT rights, make blog posts, write songs, make movies, do ANYTHING you can think of to support us!