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Lindsay Reyes

Mrs. Jackie Burr, Instructor

English 2010, Section 3

5 February 2019

An Open Letter to My Little Sister

Dear Jordan,

As my sister, and especially as my littlest and only-est sister, you deserve a brief

heads-up about the world: it’s unfair. It’s unfair, cruel, and merciless. Right now, as you’re

navigating your way through the pimples, peer-pressure, and pining of middle school, especially

in the sheltered bubble known as Utah, it probably doesn’t seem that way. Don’t worry, when

you make it to high school and beyond, everything is going to come crashing down. I know, I

know, it sounds really bad, but ​I’ve​ made it this far, and we’re related, so that means ​you​ can too.

Motivational, I know.

Now, here’s another bit of advice, some you probably don’t want to hear. You were born

with a disadvantage. You started out in this world kicking and screaming because of how unfair

it is. No, it’s not that you’re short, or a minority. It’s because you’re a girl. It might not seem that

way now; being a girl isn’t so bad, right? Your teachers treat you all the same, and your

classmates don’t seem to treat you any different—yet. Just wait, it doesn’t get better.

One of my first experiences with inequality was in 7th grade, during gym. I remember

how gym class reeked with sweat, cologne, and new shoes. We’d play a new sport each week;

ultimate frisbee, volleyball, soccer. Then came football. It was flag football, of course, not

tackle, because the school didn’t want a lawsuit on their hands. I’d hastily tie the flags around

my waist, yank on the too-big jersey, and get into position. The whistle would blow, and I’d run
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to catch the ball— only the ball never came. Every game, the boys would pass it around to

themselves, and no one else. Even if I was wide open, my hands would remain empty and

waiting. It was frustrating.

This is only one of many examples. I tutored my 9th grade year, and while I was walking

through the hall with the boy I tutored, one of his friends crooned, “Is that your b***?” I’ve been

whistled at, honked at, ogled at, outside and inside of school, all because I’m a girl. Yet, I

haven’t even experienced ​half ​of what other women have to endure every single day. There is a

solution to all of this, however. It’s called “feminism.”

“Glass ceilings, glass cliffs, leaning in: This is feminism, we’re told, that offers nothing

to the mass of American women…” (Pollitt 6). Feminism is a word that elicits eyerolls and

groans. Call yourself a feminist and people will scatter like you’ve just doused yourself in Axe

body spray. But, why? Why is a belief that men and women treat each other like equals so

frowned upon? As a 7th grader, I don’t expect you to know the answer, but I do expect you to

ask yourself that same question. Think about your history class. How many female historical

figures can you name? Now, how many male historical figures? It’s not that women just

magically appeared after the 19th century, it’s that they were erased from the history books

(Heing). Unfortunately, this isn’t just a thing of our past. Hundreds of years later, women ​still a​ re

experiencing the inequality that had been doled out to their ancestors on giant, silver plates.

Women are forced to shape their lives around something that’s out of control—their own body.

Estimates show each child a woman has costs her a five percent loss in wages. Even when a

woman crawls her way into a high-paying and high-power position, her pay might not match that

of her male counterpart. Unfortunately, research has shown that the wage gap isn’t a myth. At
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this rate, it will take until 2058 for it to completely close. (Gender Pay Gap) That means ​your

children will finally taste equality in the workplace.

Men and women are different. They are built differently, and they act differently. Men

can’t have babies, while women can. Men ​are​ biologically stronger than women. It’s not

reasonable to think that a man will be able to do everything a woman does, and that a woman

will be able to do everything a man does. But, that’s no excuse to toss equality out the window.

Jordan, we live in a state where the main religion, Latter-Day Saints, treasures the woman as the

caretaker, and the man as the protector. We live in a state where girls are taught to sew clothes,

and boys are taught to shoot rabbits. We live in a state where women are expected to marry and

have five kids by the time they’re thirty-years-old. Challenge that! You are the caretaker ​and

protector. You can sew ​and ​hunt. Or, you can do neither. Marry or don’t marry, it’s up to you,

not a religion, and definitely not society.

Society is us, and we are society. Blaming inequality on an intangible concept is just a

poor excuse. It’s easy to point fingers at something that can’t fight back, rather than point that

finger at yourself. Remember, it all starts with you. “We have evolved; but it seems to me that

our ideas of gender have not evolved” (Adichie).

But, just as you have a choice, remember that others have their own choices as well.

Feminism means equality, which ecompasses both women ​and​ men. Equality is about treating

people the same way, and that includes judgement. If she wants to stay at home with her kids, let

her. If he wants to grow his hair out to his waist, let him. You, and you alone, are the sculptor of

how you affect others.

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Works Cited

Adichie, Chimamanda. “We should all be feminists.” TED. Apr. 2013. Lecture.

Heing, Bridey. “The History of Erasing Women's History.” ​Broadly​, VICE, 5 Nov. 2015,

broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/bmw4aq/the-history-of-erasing-womens-history.

Pollitt, Katha. “Feminism for All.” ​Nation​, vol. 304, no. 8, Mar. 2017, pp. 6–8. ​EBSCOhost​,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=121408731&site=ehost-live.

“The Gender Pay Gap – Myth vs. Fact.” National Organization for Women, National

Organization for Women, now.org/resource/the-gender-pay-gap-myth-vs-fact/.