I opened up the Supergirl comic book I had just bought. I couldn’t wait to show it to all my friends. The cover looked real cool, showing her fighting some monster-thing. But it also showed her from her waist up. This illusion I fell for caused me to instantly buy it without bothering to skim through it. You know that saying? Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Well, that’s where I was wrong.

I didn’t know it then, but I was buying a misogynistic comic. I reached my house and started to look through it properly. I noticed that she wasn’t wearing anything except bikini bottoms and a shirt. Not to mention a cape. When you look at Superman, he’s covered head to toe. But, they don’t even give this girl shorts. They choose for her to show her butt. And what is that good for? Do villains really care how pretty the hero is or do they just want to kill them? But, this is one step further from when women were the ones who were in distress. I read another Teen Ink article about sexism in gaming. But it’s not just in gaming or comic books. It’s everywhere. Girls are portrayed as those who need to show their butt around when fighting crime.  We women don’t just want to be shown as immature, spoiled brats who need men to live. In fact, a lot of TV shows show women as dumb and pretty. We are living up to the standards of beauty in this age. We have to be pretty to do things in our life. These days, singers don’t need just talent, they need the looks. With today’s technology, by the click of a button, they could make your voice sound a million times more better.  But, no. Women who have talent, natural, raw talent, should be the ones on the covers of magazines.

It’s not just women who get the disrespect. It’s millions of other people who aren’t treated fairly. It’s transgender people who can’t use the public bathrooms. It’s models who shouldn’t have to be in danger to even get a speck of attention. Normal, average women should be models as well, because they’re beautiful. Overweight people shouldn’t be shunned from others and should be treated equally. Black men and women shouldn’t be treated differently either. These are things we should know by now. These are common facts. We should be able to be proud of this country because of the people in it. We are all different. But we should be treated the same.

I dedicate this to you. Yes, you. Because I believe that together, we can make a difference. You aren’t too young to make a difference. You don’t have to follow any crowd either. Stick up for yourself. Stand out. Be yourself. So what if you’re different? That makes you who you are. You can’t let anything or anyone  stop you. Because together, we can do anything. I encourage you to make a stand. Whether it’s standing up to a bully or speaking up, it’s a start. You should start now. Right this second. Because we can make a change.