Ladies, raise your hand if you're ready for women to stop being treated like second-class citizens because of our reproductive organs. What's that? You dislocated your shoulder raising your hand so quickly? Maybe you should have a man check to make sure it's actually dislocated. You might be over-reacting, y'know.
In all seriousness, women are pandered to left, right, and center. Sometimes it's from men, other times it's from other women, like the CEO of Pepsi Co. who decided that Lady Doritos needed to be a thing.
But perhaps the biggest issue women are facing revolves around our periods. How many of you have heard "oh you're angry...must be that time of the month!" Or maybe it's just that time of the day where you're being an idiot, Jim. Did you ever think about that?
Period pain is wildly unpredictable, and the only constant is that it's painful. Men just don't get it. They also claim women are being dramatic and that it's "not that bad." Oh I'm sorry, have you ever had one of your internal organs shed itself for a good four days? No? Then you don't get to tell me if it's "that bad."
A doctor in the UK suggested that women who suffer from menstrual cramping should be given paid leave by employers. According to 1000 women surveyed, 52% of women acknowledged their period pain affects their ability to work. Of that 52%, practically one third of them had taken a sick day as a result of the pain.
"Menstruation is normal, but some women suffer terribly and they suffer in silence," said Dr. Gedis Grudzinskas. "I don't think women should be shy about it, and companies should be accommodating with leave for women who are struggling with painful periods."
That suggestion took us nowhere, as men still didn't believe that period cramps were that bad.
Don't worry, though. That just changed.
According to John Guillebaud, a professor of reproductive health at University College London, period cramps are "almost as bad as having a heart attack." For some unknown reason (just kidding, we all know why) men now believe that menstrual cramps are, in fact, the devil's work.
And while I'm glad that it's finally being recognized, I seriously take issue with the fact that men didn't believe women until another man corroborated the story. Was it not enough that women were telling you this? I mean really, what do we have to gain by telling you our cramps are awful? Sympathy? We weren't getting that. Time off? We weren't getting that either.
The same thing goes for childbirth, as well. Men will say "you don't know what it feels like to get kicked in the junk, though." Right, and you don't know what it feels like to have a baby be pushed out of your vagina. Then, when men try those "labor machines" that simulate labor pains, all of a sudden they're not as brave with their words.
This all falls back to something that happens every day: women not being taken at face value, whether it's by men or other women. Every fact presented needs to be backed with evidence. Every opinion is picked apart. Every suggestion is second-guessed. I know I've been in situations where I make a suggestion and it gets turned down, but then a week later a male colleague makes the SAME suggestion and it's lauded as a brilliant idea. It's a primitive way of thinking, to believe that women are less than men, and it needs to stop.
So thank you, John Guillebaud, for letting the rest of the world in on a secret that women already knew. I'm glad someone's opinion is respected.