“We are going to need all the help to paint the temple. And we need the ladies to help with making lunch.” There are more to the message, but I stopped reading right at this point. These two sentences threw me into a feminist rage.

Ladies to help with making lunch? Is that all the ladies are good for? Are you saying that ladies can’t paint building? What if the ladies want to paint building, then would all the boys starve because there are no ladies to make lunch? Am I really in the 21st century? What the @&#*$%!?!?!?

And then it hit me. First of all, these Thai guys haven’t been in the U.S as long as I have, probably. The whole gender equality thing might still be a foreign idea to them. Secondly, since this is in fact Thai Student Association, hence every member should understand and accept the traditional gender role. And finally, there might be a religious reason stating that males can paint a temple, which makes sense given that women aren’t allow to do a lot in that environment.

Fine. Whatever. I understood the concept, but that doesn’t mean that I agree with any of it.

Before you start saying, “Oh yeah, well, Oakley has been in America for too long,” let me clue you in. I have always been liberal and expressive in my own terms. (Ask anyone.) But I could only say or do so much before I got in trouble, so I held back. Being in America, the Land of the Free—or so they say…well, at least for girls anyways—my repressed thoughts and opinions get to blossom. I was given the liberty to open my mouth, express my opinion, and not being put down or frowned upon for doing so. More importantly, it gives me the rights to be proud and empowered that I am a girl.

I have always believed that women can do a lot more than what the society says that we can. I recognize the differences in the two sexes. I accept the fact that women are in no way equal to men physically and mentally, but it doesn’t mean that we are worse or less of a human because of those differences. In the U.S., girls are encouraged to do everything and be everything. It doesn’t matter where you come from or how long you have been here, girls and women are supposed to be strong, smart, and independent. Being athletics and having toned muscles doesn’t mean that you are less feminine. Being able to speak your mind and express your thoughts doesn’t mean that you are improper. Being able to do things for yourself, not waiting for boys to take care of you, is not a flaw.

These ideas are introduced to the girls since the very young age, starting from being active and playing sports. I was in quite a shock when I got to high school. Girls at my school are playing sports that I have always known to most of us to be boys’ sports like soccer, water polo, and softball. From what I read in magazines at the time, girls across the country are playing ice hockey, baseball, American football, and boxing. I was intimidated at that time.

Gabriel Reese on the beach with her sports.