KRISTY BERRIDGE

Do girls matter and 

do we value them?

I have been posed what I think might be a ‘light’ question of relativity, but is actually a very serious question when considering the answer: Do girls matter and do we value them?

The natural inclination is to respond with of course: How can girls not matter? They are the other half of this planet’s dominating species and the natural-born creation in which the birth of human life is propagated.

Girls or women, as I prefer to say, are the peanut butter to a jelly sandwich, the hammer to a nail and the coffin to a grave. Without us, there is just a sickly sweet, carb-loaded sandwich; a lonesome nail destined to inflict tetanus without a proper home; and an empty grave in order for weeds to grow.

Women are as relative as men are and equally important. Sure, there are times when individuals are undervalued, for example: High-paid careers, homemakers and schoolteachers, but in saying this, so are our male counterparts. When was the last time you heard about a fantastic stay-at-home dad who takes care of the house and virtually raises the kids while mum is at work? When was the last time we valued the backbreaking work of our male labourers—a job that (admit it girls) is physically beyond our capabilities?

All too often men and women are compared and yet we don’t seem to stop and value the individual for their personal triumphs and academic accomplishments. Why does this topic arise so often and when will we see ourselves on equal ground that we never have to question whether or not girls matter and are we valued?

I’m simply going to end this by saying, I am Kristy Berridge—a girl and a human being—I am no more valuable than the kindly old man that lives up the street or my single-mother neighbour doing it tough with a teenager. We are all important and we all have credibility on this earth. The sooner we start to believe this, the sooner we can stop competing.

Kristy J