As a girl grows up, the females around her act as a safety net. Sometimes in a small way; offering ibuprofen to help your headache, lending a pad or tampon, or providing advice as to how to style your hair. This phenomenon has grown out of the dangers and marginalization that women face throughout their daily lives. For women, the reality that they could be sexually harassed or assaulted, turned down from a job, or have to lend much of their monthly income to birth control expenses can be overwhelming. All of the hardships that they bear; physically, mentally, and emotionally are countered by the overwhelmingly beautiful aspects of being a woman. Inexplicable connection, support, and appreciation that’s felt towards other women is one of the most amazing parts of womanhood.
Women are extremely strong, and use their strength to support each other in many ways. The sense of comradery and importance of lending a hand comes from many struggles that they’ve overcome together. There are many examples throughout United States history that represent the unity and diversity of womanhood.
During the Rosie the Riveter movement in the 1930s, over six million women joined the workforce, including women of many races and nationalities. While men were drafted to fight overseas, women worked eight hours a day, six days a week to manufacture ships, planes, and ammunition. Throughout the civil rights movement, women were key members in organizing protests, meetings, and community gatherings. Many females who played key roles in important advancements are overlooked in today’s history lessons. Although the Little Rock Nine are celebrated often this is only beacuse of Septima Poinsette Clark, the Arkansas NAACP president, who was a key force in the integration of Little Rock schools. Claudette Colvin is another example of an extraordinary woman of the civil rights movement who refused to give up her seat at just 15 years old, nine months before Rosa Parks famously did. As the fight for reproductive rights advanced in the late 60s and early 70s with the Women’s Health Movement, the diversity in ideologies and identities in the feminist movement were vital to the advancement of reproductive rights. More recently, the #MeToo movement utilized social media to bring justice to sexual abuse, assault, and harrasment surivors. The movement had global reach, and women were able to see their abusers prosecuted for the trauma they inflicted.
Fifty-one percent of the global population is female, which rounds out to be just over four billion women living on this earth. There are many ways in which women work to make each other feel safe and comfortable. At Berkeley High School, small gestures are offered to create a sense of community between girls and women, and their importance can often go overlooked. With every compliment received, piece of advice given, or joke shared, this safety net we’ve created for each other gets stronger.