In these wee hours of quiet contemplation under a cloud of seeping misogyny, I consider the weight of my existence among men who wish to dominate me.

I think of my friend who was raped back in college by a man she was dating…still carrying the trauma on her back until she figuratively and quite literally bleeds from her eyes, her heart, her mind, and her vagina.

Or my other friend who was attacked with a knife by a male demanding things we can’t imagine, cornered in his home…visible and invisible scars that remind her of the lack of control that was wielded against her and taken away from her.

Or the time that I was backed into a corner to prevent me from leaving…no harm coming from it, but a realization that I never, ever want to be put in that situation again.

Women have the power to transform who sits at the table. All we have to do is vote. Vote in women. Vote in progressives who understand that money and misogyny have no place in politics…and certainly not our justice system.

I have been told recently to use my time and talents to DO something. I do. I volunteer, I advocate, I read, I raise my voice, I teach my daughter, I challenge my adversaries, I donate, and I vote.

I also listen. I listen to the stories of these women and the reasons they act or don’t act as society tells them they should, constantly berating themselves as if trauma is not the life-sucking constant weight that pulls them back into their fear and their shame.

Every single woman on this Earth has, at one time or another, carried the shame of a trauma or an incident stemming from a sexual encounter they were not comfortable with. This is not to say that every one of those incidences involved a perpetrator or a criminal; however, it is a clue as to the work that needs to be done to teach men and women the line of consent and respect and dignity…and that every person on this Earth deserves that.

It is time to take this problem seriously. As a society, we have not yet done so. Rape culture, misogyny, patriarchy…all still dominate our collective existence.

The time is now to bring back the sacred feminine. The time is now to tear down systems that put men in control of our fates, and bodies, and perceptions through our religions, politics, and language. The time is now to demand equal representation at all levels. And this includes equal representation of women in all demographics (i.e. blacks, poor, Muslim, trans, etc). The time is now for action and change.

So vote…it is the only way that our voices and our daughters’ voices are ensured a real future.