if you have a y chromosome, avoid me at all costs today

I used to preface rants like this with the phrase "I'm not a feminist, but..." I've decided I'm not going to do that anymore. Mainly because it is offensive to the
women of the past who gave up everything to get my slack-ass generation to the point where they could take things like equal rights and a career not involving pregnancy and housework for granted. So now I am going to go off on an unbridled, feminist rant. And no, I'm not on the rag, thank you for asking.

Normally I am able to take the injustice of the world in stride. I just remind myself that I am a pampered, middle-class white kid who has never had any significant struggles in her life, and am too ashamed to do too much complaining afterwards. However, lately I have been so struck by the load of the unfairness in other peoples' lives that it has been difficult to stop bitching about it. And by other people I actually am focusing on women, specifically.

We have all heard the complaints. Why should I be the one to give up my last name? Why is that douchebag with the striped bowtie making more money than me even though we do the exact same job? Why am I expected to give up my entire career and stay home with this little brat while his life remains completely unchanged? Blah blah blah.

These things annoy me, but I have learned to live with them. I realize that even though there is a lot of stuff that could be better, it is still arguably the best time in history to be a woman (speaking as an American, anyway). Progress is being made every day. I almost feel like I've been to the mountaintop or something--I can see true equality in the future, even if it isn't my future. And I am grateful for that.

But today when I was having breakfast in the hospital cafeteria, there was a tiny segment on the news about horse breeding and racing in Kentucky. In the segment they mentioned Eight Bells, the filly from last year's Kentucky Derby who was the projected winner, but ended up being euthanized after the race when she broke both of her front legs after being pushed to the absolute limit of her ability. She came in second to Big Brown.

And then I got really angry. With the world or something, I don't know. Because the sum of Eight Bells story was this: a female was shoved into a male's world and forced to compete on their terms, then was pushed so hard towards victory that she paid for it with her life. And then some dude won anyway.

All I'm saying is that life isn't fair.