#WhyIMarch

On January 21, 2017, I will be at the Women's March on Washington.

Why I March:

• Because Women's Rights are Human Rights. Think about it. In its simplest form, take away the skin, the muscles, the organs, you will see a skeleton, the bare bones of a human being. Keeping that in mind and that we are all, in fact human beings, it is way past the time we should be respected as equals.
• The Women's Suffrage Movement.
• The women of history that came before me, through blood, sweat, starvation, tears and lots of protests gained me the right and privilege to vote and use my voice as a part of our democratic system. I march for them!
• Because I am afraid. I am afraid for myself, for my friends, for complete strangers, for children, etc. and I have every right to be afraid.
• Because I am a strong feminist and will fight for my rights as a woman!
• MY VAGINA!
• Reproductive Health Care.
• Where to start? The threat of defunding Planned Parenthood, which will devalue our current status of reproductive health care. Planned Parenthood turned 100 years old in 2016. I repeat Planned Parenthood turned 100 years old in 2016!!! Planned Parenthood has been around for a century as a champion for reproductive health care and reproductive health rights for women and men by providing abortion services, birth control, educational resources, HIV testing, LGBT services (i.e. hormone therapy for transgender clients, resources and services referral), men's health care, morning-after pill (emergency contraception), pregnancy testing & services (i.e. pregnancy testing, abortion services, abortion referrals, adoption referrals, trained staff to discuss your options with you if you are pregnant, trained staff to talk with you about early pregnancy loss/miscarriage), STD testing, treatments & vaccines, and women's health care. If all you see Planned Parenthood as is an abortion clinic, let me be the first to inform you not every Planned Parenthood location actually offers that service, and it truly upsets me that you are so willfully ignorant and/or blind due to your moral standards that you refuse to see the hundreds of other services offered to not only women, but men too through Planned Parenthood. I WILL ALWAYS STAND WITH PLANNED PARENTHOOD and will continue to be a supporter and advocate for the work that they do.
• The United States has a problem with not being able to have an open dialogue about sex! As a nation we do not properly educate all of our coming of age children on sex, how to have protected sex, sexual consent, what the consequences of sex can truly be, etc. Not all 50 states even teach sex education, which in 2017 is fucking ridiculous! As of 2/16/2016, below are some short facts on sex education in schools from the National Conference of State Legislatures:
  • 24 states and the District of Columbia require public schools teach sex education (21 of which mandate sex education and HIV education).
  • 33 states and the District of Columbia require students receive instruction about HIV/AIDS.
  • 20 states require that if provided, sex and/or HIV education must be medically, factually or technically accurate. State definitions of “medically accurate" vary, from requiring that the department of health review curriculum for accuracy, to mandating that curriculum be based on information from “published authorities upon which medical professionals rely.” (See table on medically accuracy laws.)
  • 38 states and the District of Columbia require school districts to allow parental involvement in sexual education programs.
  • Four states require parental consent before a child can receive instruction.
  • 35 states and the District of Columbia allow parents to opt-out on behalf of their children.
• Sex has everything to do with reproductive health, so if we as the United States cannot openly discuss and educate our fellow citizens, then we already have a strike against us when it comes to reproductive health care. If we cannot talk about sex, we are setting ourselves and others up for consequences from sex that could have been prevented or thoughtfully planned. We need to be a sex positive nation!
• Gender Identity.
• Well, being from North Carolina and to thankfully have grown up and currently live in a tolerant city for the majority of my life, I stand in solidarity and as a strong and faithful Ally with my LGBTQIA+ community! When HB2 passed here in NC, I was devastated because the bill was more than just a "bathroom bill", it is an outright discrimination bill. Out of that ugly bill, many people have shown their true faces of disgust for the LGBTQIA+ community, but there has also been a thunderous support in several cities that support gender equality and inclusivity. So, another reason I march is to honor and walk in solidarity as an Ally to the LGBTQIA+ community, my friends, family and complete strangers who deserve to be treated as human beings.
• Race.
• The racial climate the past few years has been a heightened one. Black Lives Matter. Muslim Lives Matters. Native American Lives Matter. Americans have spent so much time as of late, it seems, combating each other and after reading Trevor Noah's "Born A Crime", it is frightening how these crimes if exploited and elevated the right way through the media and funneled up through the government could turn into something similar to the apartheid that was happening in South Africa. We need to stop fighting and attacking each other and come together. A nation united, not segregated. I know, as a white female with a very common name, I have no idea of the real hate and blatant discrimination my friends, family and complete strangers have lived and are living, but know that I march for you, with you. Hand in hand. 
• Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence.
• As a volunteer hospital advocate for sexual assault and domestic violence victims in my local city and a sexual assault survivor myself, I march for the women and men who are survivors, who have given a testimony in court, who are currently in a shelter, who are in the ED right now preparing to go through the forensic exam/rape kit, who are going to the police to give their statement, who are going to the court system to file a DVPO for the first or more times, who are planning their escape, who have children and think they could not leave them with their abuser, who have left but returned to their abuser, and sadly those we have lost due to sexual assault and domestic violence.
• Every 6.5 seconds, a woman is physically assaulted or raped by an intimate partner. (CDC, 2010)
• Each day, nearly 4 women in the United States are murdered by a male intimate partner. (CDC, 2010)
• 1 out of 5 women nationally has been sexually assaulted
• Victimization often occurs for the first time before the age of 25
• Approximately one in four women is estimated to have experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact during their lifetimes (CDC, 2011)
• Approximately one in three women is estimated to have experienced some type of noncontact unwanted sexual experience during their lifetimes (CDC, 2011)
• Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence is always about Power and Control, so I also march to take Power and Control over My Own Body.
• Future generations.
• I march as a face for the future generations of women, I march for and on behalf of them! Who knows, maybe I will even have a daughter of my own some day...So especially in that sense, I march for her!
• Because I am on the right side of history!