I am not a second class citizen.

I am a female.


I am a woman.

Second class citizenship means having others tell you what to do with your body and life. It is what happens when I am forced to live with decisions of others, because I don't have the tools to protect myself or make those decision, because others don't want me to have them.  Second class citizenship also means not having support from anyone for equal pay for equal work.


And in case you don't realize, by throwing everything you have against a bill/policy/program that restricts a groups' access to basic healthcare and preventative medicine, like contraception, you are creating a group of second class citizens.  You are requiring my care to be held hostage by my employer and/or insurance plan, as I can't just swap out my job or insurance.  This program will protect my rights to care so my employer/insurance can't dick me over.  It can't fully protect us from be shamed for making our decisions, but at least we can make them.

Just because:
I take the pill... I am not a second class citizen.
I had more than one sexual partner... I am not a second class citizen.
I may like to go out and drink, and get a little crazy... I am not a second class citizen.
I may have a one-night stand... I am not a second class citizen.
I want to protect myself from pregnancy... I am not a second class citizen.
I may have spurts of being a "dirty slut" in between long term monogamous relationships... I am not a second class citizen.
I don't have a penis... I am not a second class citizen.
We had to fight for our right to vote, have a voice, inherit what is ours, work in certain professions, go to certain schools, etc.... I am not a second class citizen (now).
I decided to have a baby out of wedlock and I am the dreaded "single mother"... I am not a second class citizen.

I am not a second class citizen because:
Unless, you pulled a Minerva, I am the one who carries your children, not men.
I am the one forced to ensure there is population control (with or without the pill), not men.
I am the one who physically lives with the consequences of sex, not men.
I control what happens with my body, no one else should.
I decide who I have sex with, and when, no one else.
I don't hear any outcry against men having vasectomies, and that "stops" life just as much as the pill.
No one questions how much sex a man has, why should you question mine, and what protections I should have.
As long as the sex I have (or any one has) is consensual, you have no business concerning yourself with it.
I am taking precautions to protect myself when I do decide to have sex, so let me do it.
I probably have more balls than most "men" do.
Men just have to slap on a rubber or time it, and that's all the "birth control" they worry about, I am the one who wants to protect myself (and my partner).
We had to fight for the right to do a lot of things, and we won't stop.
I am amazing.
I will change the world.

'I'm a woman, I like men. If that means I'm not “lady-like”, then I guess I'm just not a lady! At least I'm honest.'