Growing up, I was lucky to have parents with more progressive ideas than conservative ones. My mom raised my brother and me to believe that anything men can do, women are equally as capable of doing. But my parents werenât idealistic and didnât teach me that with hard work and determination anything is possible though. They made sure I knew that as a woman, my life would be ten times harder than any man around me. I would be talked over, passed over, or talked down to in any profession I chose to follow.
Not once have they ever sugar-coated that reality of life; even now I call my mom to cry about feeling talked over in clubs or class. She just reminds me that when others whisper, I will have to yell. To use that yell to do good, because when I make people listen, I have to make it matter.Â
This election, I have been extremely conflicted about my voice and how I choose to use it. Who to say what to and when. But as Election Day is tomorrow, I sit here with a pit in my stomach and a bunch of new fears that have real possibilities of becoming a reality. The loss of my bodily autonomy, the inability to express my sexuality, the growing fear of living paycheck to paycheck, and much more. I find it so hard to bite my tongue when people justify why they are voting for Donald Trump or why they arenât voting when all I hear is `I am actively voting for you to lose your rightsâ.Â
Now this is not to say Kamala Harris is the perfect candidate. Frankly, there are things she has done that leave me disgusted, like her justification of the three strikes laws for non-violent offenders and her aid to Israel. But for every policy of Harris, I donât stand behind, there are ten policies of Trumpâs that go against everything I believe in. I find it hard to read the Project 2025 document and seeing every other line is a knife in my back and a way to strip away my identity. So here is my plea as a queer woman whose life depends on it.
Many people, whether it be through wealth, gender, sexuality, or race can walk away from the oppressive policies. Turn a blind eye or ignore the oppression through policies. People in those minorities canât. While you donât see or face it, doesnât make the experiences fake or mean they arenât happening. We not only face the real-life consequences but also the words and assumptions made about us.Â
As a woman specifically, when we want an abortion, we get screamed at by protesters who say we are murderers and killers. Want equal pay? We are called greedy and criticized for not negotiating for ourselves when we arenât even allowed at the table. We demand justice for our rapists and abusers? Weâre called whores and told we wanted it. I canât walk down the street with headphones on. I canât go on a fun blind date because I donât know if the man in front of me will kill me if I say ânoâ to sex later. We have been raised to be perfect little caretakers and when weâre not or donât want to be we are shamed or killed.
So here I am, pathetically Iâm sitting here begging people to vote, but all I get is that “they are two awful candidates”. They donât see my identity and my life on the line like I do. They donât see the fight I do every day just to have the right to exist and be a person to people. Rights and persons that the Trump administration and campaigns have actively fought against through Title IX reforms and appointing judges who overturned Roe v Wade. These are not things a candidate who is ‘for the people’ should be actively pursuing. “Making America Great Again” but when was America great for anyone besides the cis white man? There has always been some sort of issue whether national security, civil rights, economic uncertainty, social clashes, and so much more.
Harris, on the other hand, has lived in my shoes as a woman and understands the challenges. She knows what’s at stake being a woman in a room full of men, especially in this political climate. She understands the power of her voice and when to use it. This is all to say when I go to the polls tomorrow, I will be casting it for Kamala Harris as if my rights depend on it because they do.
So if you read this, and you are at home on the fence, consider this. Consider your decision may not impact you, but does impact millions of women, LGBTQ+ individuals, POC, and many more. Make smart choices to create a world that is safe, secure, and respects everyone regardless of their identities. More importantly, vote for someone who upholds your morals and values.