Girls deserve same opportunities
EDITOR: My name is Eden Winniford. I live in Cloverdale, home to Post 293 of the American Legion, and I am the Girls’ State delegate for my town. Both my father and grandfather are in the American Legion, and I’ve been going to the annual dinners ever since I was six.
I believe the American Legion is an amazing organization, filled with amazing men and women, and it’s such a joy and an honor to be able to sit with them and hear their stories. However, there’s a major issue that is only getting worse.
During the 1990s, two boys were sent to Boys’ State, and one girl was sent to Girls’ State. This was unfair, but not deplorably so. Then, three boys were sent, and still one girl. By the time I was 10, four boys were sent. I remember sitting at the Youth Appreciation Dinners every year as a young, impressionable, high-achieving girl.
I remember not being able to understand why there were four boys and only one girl speaking about receiving this life-changing experience. When I was 13, a Sons of the American Legion division was implemented in Cloverdale, and they sponsored yet another boy. This year, I am the only Cloverdale girl going, while six boys are being sent.
To put this in perspective, most of the top people in my grade are girls. We are the most outgoing in our grade, take the most difficult classes, undertake the most extracurriculars and challenge ourselves more than anyone else in the junior class. It was truly heartbreaking, walking into the interviews, knowing that only one of us would get to go to Girls’ State.
One thousand boys attend Boys’ State, while Girls’ State hosts only half that number. When I was younger, all I could think of when I learned this was that I was half as valuable as a boy. I was only half a person.
It helped to ingrain the belief that I was worth less, and it is incredibly damaging not just to me, but to girls everywhere in California. Something must be done. The American Legion is an incredible organization, and does so much good for the community, but it cannot allow itself to inadvertently teach young girls that their voices don’t matter. Girls deserve the same opportunity as boys.
Eden Winniford
Cloverdale
