WHAT DOES EQUALITY MEAN TO YOU?

[Dena]

From our Declaration of Independence.

WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal,

This doesn't mean that we are all born with the same abilities or anything that can be gained in life. It only means that the same opportunity exist for everybody. It's the rags to riches story is our story. A person who has nothing is free to make their life into whatever they want it to be. The path may be more difficult for one person than another but we aren't bound by a caste system where our options in life are restricted by accident of birth. We can't expect aid in reaching our goal but we shouldn't be prevented from obtaining our goal either. This called the American dream and it been the thing that many have come to my county over the years to obtain.

[Julia1996]

I doubt I'll ever have it bit Equality for me would be a lot of things. All MEN are created equal as the saying goes. Men don't seem to think that applies to women. If I was ever to have equality for me it would be:

Not being talked down to.
Not having guys mansplain things I know more about than they do.
Not being dismissed and told " this is a guy thing. You wouldn't understand it".
Not being treated like I'm a complete idiot by guys. Including my own dad!
Not having guys think my time is worthless and I would just waste it on frivolous things because I'm a girl.

Not having my dad tell me to be home by 11pm if I'm not with my boyfriend even though I'm 19 years old because "a 19 year old girl has no business out late at night by herself". My brother never had that rule when he was 19.

Not being told " please Julia, make yourself useful and find something to do, men are talking" when I offer an opinion. My grandpa says that to me if I try to add anything when he's talking to my dad.

Not being told I don't need to worry about an education because I'm pretty enough to get a husband to take care of me and that college is for ugly girls and lesbians. Something else my grandpa says to me.

Not being told " oh it's your hormones flaring up" if I get mad or upset when a guy says or does something stupid. Which is most of the time around my house.

[Lady Sarah]

I doubt I'll ever have it bit Equality for me would be a lot of things. All MEN are created equal as the saying goes. Men don't seem to think that applies to women. If I was ever to have equality for me it would be:

Not being talked down to.
Not having guys mansplain things I know more about than they do.
Not being dismissed and told " this is a guy thing. You wouldn't understand it".
Not being treated like I'm a complete idiot by guys. Including my own dad!
Not having guys think my time is worthless and I would just waste it on frivolous things because I'm a girl.

Not having my dad tell me to be home by 11pm if I'm not with my boyfriend even though I'm 19 years old because "a 19 year old girl has no business out late at night by herself". My brother never had that rule when he was 19.

Not being told " please Julia, make yourself useful and find something to do, men are talking" when I offer an opinion. My grandpa says that to me if I try to add anything when he's talking to my dad.

Not being told I don't need to worry about an education because I'm pretty enough to get a husband to take care of me and that college is for ugly girls and lesbians. Something else my grandpa says to me.

Not being told " oh it's your hormones flaring up" if I get mad or upset when a guy says or does something stupid. Which is most of the time around my house.

All that, and:
Not being told we are "ovary acting", when stuff goes awry.
Not being told to completely change my schedule when Phillip's work schedule changes. I hate the idea of having to get up every day long before the sun comes up, and then having to stay up past 2:00 AM.
Not being treated like a little child. I am 51 years old, for goodness sake!
Not being told to just drop everything I am doing, just to run some idiot chore. I won't get anything done that way.
Not being told I have to stand and wait to be told what to do. Like I said, I hate being treated like a little child.

[Rowena_Ellenweorc]

Equality -- What a word.

For me, equality can be summed up with something I wrote recently (Warning: F-bomb dropped once, but I think its the only non-family friendly word in there...)  https://fierymamarow.deviantart.com/art/Fight-for-Us-701107033

BUUUUUT in short what it says, is that to me, I don't want to have to wake up in the morning and TELL myself that I'm not a freak, and that I deserve the rights that every human should have.  I don't want to feel like this country I live in hates everything I am, and I that I don't deserve anything.

For me, Equality means not being afraid to be me.  When I walk out my door, I want to be able to expect that if I apply for a job, its based on my qualifications, skills, abilities, etc. Not the color of my skin, my gender, my sexuality, my hair color, my height, my mental illness, etc.  If I can do the job, that's what I expect to be judged on.  If I were to divorce and remarry, I expect my government to respect that love knows no bounds.  Religion, that's a different story, but I live in a country where religion and state are not supposed to be synonomous.  I expect if I go into a grocery store, for the cashier to take my credit card to pay for my oranges the same as he would the guy in front of me.  I expect not to be afraid to use the bathroom. I expect that if a crime is committed against me, I will get the same justice a cis-white-christian male would.  Those are just a few examples.