I am a woman. I am proud to be a woman. I believe in fighting for equal rights. Equal rights. I don’t want to be more than men. I don’t want to think of myself as above men, I just want to have the right to be paid the same as them, not more. I think that sometimes women are fighting to be more than males and I don’t want that. Last year, when it was international women’s day, my teacher brought a pack of 50 Timbits (Canadian AF). He walked into the class, placed the Timbits on his desk and began to speak about International Women’s Day. Then, he took the box and only offered the girls a Timbit, instantly once the boys realized what he was doing they started to protest. Every single girl in my class took a Timbit, except me.

When my teacher got to me and asked “Would you like a Timbit?” I simply said “No”. He looked shocked. He then preceded to ask me “Why?” and I replied by saying “I will refuse to take a Timbit until you offer the boys in our class one as well. I will support people fighting for women to have equal rights, but I do not want more than that. I do not want women to be more than men. The whole point of International Women’s Day for women to have equal rights, and you have taken advantage of that and made it look like women are fighting to be more than men and that cannot be further than the truth. I am fighting to be equal.” My teacher didn’t know what to say after that so I asked “Could I please have the box of Timbits?” He handed them to me and I went up and down the rows offering them to not only the girls, but also the boys.

Once everyone in our class had taken a Timbit, I walked over to my teacher’s desk where he was seated, set the box on the desk, took one out and said “Yes, now I would like a Timbit”.

As a woman, I am fighting to be equal and nothing more.

 

       -Katelynn