Recently I started reading Mary Wollstonecraft's "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman". I've always been interested in the different studies involving furthering our gender to equality, and her writing strikes me as incredible for her time period. She said, "The conduct and manners of women, in fact, evidently prove that their minds are not in a healthy state; for, like the flowers which are planted in too rich a soil, strength and usefulness are sacrificed to beauty". She was writing for a male audience, suggesting that they formally educate their women to make them more respectable creatures. No one can deny that we've come a long way since her time, but I'm starting to wonder if the behavior of some women is holding us back from reaching full equality with our male counterparts. Being raised by my father alongside two older brothers, I missed out on the lessons most girls are taught at a young age. My father's primary concern wasn't teaching me to cook, clean, and act like a lady, always. Instead I learned the importance of using school as a gateway to get wherever I wanted in life. I consider myself to be worthy of equal respect with men around me, but I'm starting to wonder if all women share this belief. Everyone has seen women using their bodies and charm to get where they want to be, but is this method of climbing to the top really worth it? When I'm looked at by my male peers, I want to be recognized for my intelligence. I would consider myself a failure if I reached the place I want to be and people stopped to wonder how I got there. I think this is what Wollstonecraft was trying to tell us in her pamphlet. In order for us to ever reach equal ground with men, we have to inspire respect instead of lust. We can't demand respect without being able to hold onto it. As women, we're so close to reaching equality that we have few excuses to hold us back. We're allowed to vote and compete in the job market. We're even allowed to command our country as president. I feel if every woman realized that we're not fully there yet and worked as hard as the women before us to gain a voice, then there would be nothing that could hold us back. We would be able to stand beside men and be looked at without the prejudices that some women are still fueling. As Wollstonecraft says, "they ought to cherish a nobler ambition, and by their abilities and virtues exact respect."