Women.

What a whirlwind of a finale to January! I promised to write about Miss Representation and ended up just abandoning most social networking entirely to make it through the rest of the month!

Now, as I wipe the sweat off my brow, I decided to take a moment, pause, and reflect on the events of the last week or so.

Miss Representation, for one, was mind boggling. Caitlin and I arrived a little late (due to my ADD thinking the tickets said 7:30p and not 7:00p!), but were immediately immersed and entranced as soon as we sat down. It really made me think, a lot, about feminism and women's rights and role in the culture.

I used to be a pretty militant feminist. While I don't regard myself quite that seriously anymore, the majority of my beliefs are still the same. After this documentary, though, I think they've amped back up to a level that I had forgotten they could exist at.

The world we live in, the world my daughter is growing up in, hasn't really changed that much. For the most part, women are still looked upon as lesser somehow, as a creature entirely created for baby making, cooking and men's pleasure. I've gotten used to this world, although I absolutely hate it, but thinking of my daughter growing up to be seen as an object makes me nauseated.

So, what do we do? Really! I want to know. I find it so disconcerting sometimes to even thinking of taking on the system, the "man," that I get flustered and lost before I even start?

What I do know is that all of the popular culture, the media - television, radio, movies, books, etc. - are, if not anti-woman, then certainly not pro-women. Just pay attention the next time a commercial is on. A rap song. A movie. Women are in the home, women are "hos," women are being fought for. We're never the protagonist, we're never the hero.

Just think about it. Is that the world you would want your daughter growing up in?

I know my answer.