Hey buddy,
Today is the day that we celebrate the contributions made by women in present day and all through history. Women are important! Really, without women, nobody would be born! But women have given the world a whole lot more than that. Here are some names we'll talk about over the next few years: Marie Curie, Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, Florence Nightingale, Elizabeth I, Eleanor Roosevelt, Coretta Scott King, Wanda Pratt (that's Kevin Durant's mom) the Biblical Ruth, Esther, the virgin Mary and last but not least Nannie Bell Pyron Baker - that's your great grandmother.
All these ladies gave the world incredible things, and that list is super short compared to all the women that have given our world amazing things!
Let me tell you what this day is NOT supposed to do. This day is NOT supposed to make you feel like it's a bad thing that you're a boy or that you should be treated like you're the bad guy for being a boy. Boys are so important too! We gotta have boys to make people too, and there are a lot of boys that have given the world things that we just couldn't live without. Here's the sad part - for some reason, girls don't usually get as much credit as boys for what they do. Did you know that ladies that do jobs really well don't get paid as much as the men that do the exact same job even though sometimes the ladies are actually doing a better job at what they do? It's just because they're girls! Do you remember when our country was deciding who would be our President and Mommy and Daddy took you to that church so we could each vote for President? Well, if it had been this time a hundred years ago, Mommy wouldn't have been allowed to vote....just because I'm a girl. Did you know that it used to be that, if a girl wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer or even a writer like Mommy, she would be told "no" and would either have to quit or use a boy's name just so people would read what she wrote?! Yes!! All of those things are true! Did you know that sometimes schools don't work as hard to teach girls Math and Science? They work less time with the girls and more time with the boys even if the girls really, really like Science and Math - just because they're girls. Did you know that sometimes, if a girl gets hurt really bad by a boy, she's discouraged from saying anything about it?.....just because she's a girl!
Even though there have been a lot of people that have worked really hard to make things the same for boys and girls (because really we're all just people that God made to have bodies that look different and do different things), girls still get treated sometimes very badly.....just because they're girls - not because they did anything wrong or because they didn't work as hard or because they don't care. It's just because they're girls.
Here's what I would like for you to do. I would like for you to keep treating your sisters the way that you do. I watch you look out for them. I watch you hug them. I watch you play with their toys AND your toys. I watch you protect them, and I watch you laugh with them. I watch you giving them respect. KEEP DOING THAT! You are just almost 7 years old, and the way you act shows the world what a MAN is supposed to be better than a lot of grown up men. Pat yourself on the back for that. Keep looking at girls like they're people - not some weird animal. Keep asking questions about why it's hard to be a girl, but DON'T be afraid to say why it's hard to be a boy. When Mommy uses the word "feminist" to describe part of the way our family thinks, don't EVER think that means that I feel like girls are better than boys. I just want you to learn to relate to everyone based on their character - not whether they're a boy or a girl.....or have skin the same color as yours or an accent that sounds like yours or the same way of learning that you have. Character. Figure out whether or not you should be friends with someone based on the way they treat others. Look at each person as a brand new chance to have a friend. Look at each person as someone who just may change the world. Look at each person as someone that could change your life whether they're girls OR boys. Look at each person as someone that God decided should be part of this world because they're going to do things that nobody else in the world can do. Do this for every single girl that you see. I do this when I look at people. I hope you learn to do that too.
I need for you to do one thing, first, before I release you out into the world to complete these tasks. Run to a mirror. Look at that boy. Do this for him too, because, as much as I want good things for your sisters and for myself, I will never be able to deny that you have already changed the world for the better. You have already given humanity something that no one else could, and I know you'll continue to do that. Just remember this. While you're doing the world changing and the ground breaking for yourself and for boys, the girls are still going to need some extra hands to help change the stuff that is bad. We're going to need more voices in the chorus to speak more of the things that are true. We're going to need more strong hearts to show a love that is greater than the hurt of being shut out. Be that. Don't forget about that. You've got an important job to do. In a world where boys are still taught to not "throw like a girl" or "scream like a girl" or "walk like a girl", I want you to stand out and stand up because girls are people too. Don't forget we need your help. Don't forget about the girls.
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