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What do you know about March? The first thing that comes to my mind, and probably yours, is March Madness—where everyone bets on their basketball brackets. I remember once in high school we did our own brackets in my civics class, but not once did we discuss Women’s History Month. Did you even know March is Women’s History Month? We can’t let March breeze by without acknowledging all that women have done and continue to do.

I interviewed Kori Langdon, a worker at Oakland University Recreation Center, and she says that being a woman is “being strong and fearless and constantly going above and beyond and breaking all barriers.” For example, look at Rosa Parks. She stood up for what she believed in and went to jail for it. Rosa Parks was one of the major symbols of the Civil Rights Movement, and we must recognize that she made history as a woman. She was strong, fearless, and broke barriers, just like Langdon said.

Did you know Hilary Clinton was the first woman to be a major nominated candidate for President? I remember the 2016 election clearly. Everyone was so worried about who would win and how much they hated one of the candidates that we all seemed to forget how important it was that Hilary Clinton got there in the first place. We should have taken a step back and acknowledged this amazing step for women, but we didn’t. In fact, we didn’t even talk about her at all in school.

Brooke Sauer

Whether you wanted her to win or not, we need to recognize that this was a huge step for women. Hailey Monroe, another worker at Oakland University Recreation Center, encourages conversations about Women’s History Month because “women are so powerful, and they truly rule the world.”  “And not in a sense like that they are over men, but . . . they bring out the best in everyone,” says Monroe. It is so important that we don’t just let March pass us by. Women have done so much and continue to do so.

How are women portrayed in the media? According to Renee Hobbs in her novel Media Literacy in Action, women are depicted as eye candy even in G-rated movies. Think of the last advertisement you saw with a woman in it. What was she wearing? Were her clothes revealing? If it’s anything like the ads I’ve seen, she probably was wearing very little clothes.

Women are constantly sexualized in the media today. Thus, giving young girls a false sense of what a woman should look like. No wonder ten-year-old girls are shopping at Sephora with the idea in mind that they need to have a full face of makeup to be “pretty.” I asked my Oakland University professor, Rebekah Farrugia, what her advice would be to young girls today. She says, “Don’t listen to all the media messages that tell you how you should be. You should feel. . . the confidence and the faith in yourself that you can be whatever you want to be.”

We are exposed to media messages everywhere that tell women how they should look and how they should act. It is so important that we talk about women in a way that uplifts them. Talking about Women’s History Month and all the amazing things women have accomplished is the first step to doing this.

Next time you see a woman you know, compliment her but not on her appearance. I want you to think of something that she does or maybe how she acts. That one compliment can make her whole day, and, step by step, we can empower each other. So, when March rolls around, you’ll be prepared to have conversations about Women’s History Month. We can’t keep letting it pass us by.

Brooke Sauer is a 2024 Spring Campus Influencer.