One year ago, we published an issue of the Mercury for International Women’s Day with only women and nonbinary contributors. This year, we’ve been asked again and again if it’s “really that bad” and what men can do to help.
There are a lot of things that would help—keeping guns out of the hands of domestic abusers, equal representation in Congress, a president who isn’t a serial sexual assaulter, the ability to get the health care we need when we need it, and the freedom to walk home alone without fear. To answer your question, yes, it really is “that bad.” It’s always been “that bad.” Welcome to the Upside Down that women and nonbinary folks call another fucking Wednesday. You’re late to this party, and it’s time to catch up. We’re tired of explaining and asking nicely.
So these are our demands. If you really care about making lasting change in the wake of #MeToo and #TimesUp, you’d do well to pay attention. And if you read through this list and still have questions and need a woman to answer them for you? First, ask her what her hourly rate is for emotional labor, and pre-pay on Venmo. Also, bring snacks, but don’t offer to buy her a drink, unless she requests a bottle of gin as payment, in which case, buy Aviation.
THESE ARE OUR DEMANDS:
The face of domestic terrorism in this country isn’t the racist specter sold by conservative media outlets. It’s white guys with a history of domestic violence and ready access to weapons of war. That’s the common denominator when it comes to mass shootings. It’s not complicated, contrary to what a spineless GOP would like us to think. The simple truth is that if we made it harder for men with records of domestic violence to get guns, we might be able to reduce the number of mass shootings in America. Too often, though, laws that limit access to guns for domestic abusers do so only for people who’ve been married to their victims. The Oregon state legislature has already voted to close the so-called “boyfriend loophole,” but it should be the law of the land nationwide, and even more could be done to keep guns away from would-be mass shooters. And luckily, we already have a great model for making it absurdly inconvenient to get something: the rigmarole many women have to go through to obtain an abortion or birth control. The overreach doesn’t make sense when it comes to these things—no woman I know has ever shot up a pharmacy because she needed a new NuvaRing—but for guns? It’s a no-brainer. Men who want guns should be put through a tedious and expensive vetting process with a 48-hour waiting period and mandatory sign-offs from their bosses and their parents. People could consciously object to taking any part in a gun sale, applicants would be shamed, and there would only be two types available, neither of which is an AR-15. Women have been navigating this kind of multistep process forever. And guns kill people. Birth control saves lives. MEGAN BURBANK