Equal Rights to Equal Lefts? Claressa Shields Challenges Keith Thurman to Boxing Brawl

I'm all for women's rights, but we might be headed in the wrong direction…

I have to start by saying it took me a while to gather my thoughts on this one. As a devout womanist, I have very strong opinions about violence against women, especially when it's at the hands of a man.

One thing I have always found incredibly triggering is how men routinely threaten women with violence whenever the mere notion of equal rights is mentioned. I literally can't count how many times I ended up in knock-down-drag-out debates because I was talking about equal pay, and some man immediately reduced the entire conversation to

Equal rights? Well, you must be ready for these equal lefts!

I'm sorry, what?!

Listen, we're not in the stone age anymore and are certainly a far cry from the "traditional" 1950s. The vast majority of women now work, and many of us even take care of most of the financial responsibilities for our families alone. Most men neither want nor can provide women with a lifestyle that enables them to be stay-at-home moms or even housewives, for that matter. In fact, an increasing number of women are starting to outearn men in specific sectors (while also doing most of the housework and childrearing.) So, I'm baffled why it's so controversial that women want to be paid equally for doing the same jobs as men.

Granted, I do see how some jobs are physically demanding, and in many such sectors, women are often given the positions requiring the least heavy lifting. Outside of that, women typically pull just as much weight or even more than their male counterparts. In fact, if you look at the careers with the most significant wage gaps, they are not jobs where men have any real advantage over women.

So, why are men so threatened when women want to be paid equally for these positions? Is it that some of you realize that's the only real leverage you have over women? And if you lose that, you might actually have to start being a decent human being to get women to date you? Noooo! That can't be it! Men are so nice, mannerable, and awesome, right?

Look, I don't want to get too far into my theories on that just yet, but suffice it to say if you're threatening violence over the mere notion of women being paid equally for doing the same jobs as men, you are a horrible human.

Just having certain physical advantages over women doesn't make you better or more deserving of money and resources. Most of you aren't out here building housing, changing tires, or hunting for your food; you're getting mortgages, calling AAA, and heading to the grocery store just like women.

You also aren’t out here protecting women and children the way you used to, nor are you opening doors, lying jackets over puddles, or most of the other things men used to do to protect and care for women in everyday society. So, those so-called biological advantages are no longer serving women the way they used to.

This is especially true in the Black community, where women are the least protected class on the entire planet. What have you done to deserve more money than Black women besides being born with a penis and questionably-sized testicles?

And given that so many of you leave children in multiple households, cry bloody murder about child support, and call us gold diggers for being hypergamous or expecting you to be the breadwinners, how are y'all really out here hating on the girls getting their coins?!

Like, seriously, we're all bigger and stronger than most children. Imagine if we all told the kids to "square up" when they reached the age where they wanted to assert their autonomy. No, I'm not comparing women to children; my point is that being more physically dominant does not mean you are any more entitled to fundamental human rights, especially when those rights involve the ability to literally feed ourselves and others.

So, if you're the type of man who goes around spewing this type of rhetoric, I literally hate you! Full stop.

But this brings me back to why we're here.

Three-weight world champion, Claressa Shields, wants to fight a man. Specifically, she called out former unified welterweight world champion Keith Thurman. And honestly, I am just beside myself with grief over this one.

I want to be clear, the womanist in me believes that women should be able to do whatever they want to do in life. I don't think genitalia should ever limit who we are or what we become. So, while I have zero interest in physically fighting a man in any capacity, I respect the fact that some women do, and I suppose they should live in a world where they are allowed to do so in a manner as safely as possible.

On the other hand, this is one time when biology definitely plays a factor. And specifically, men tend to have more upper arm strength than women. Now, as a mom (with a fibroid), I must also say that I think men are weaker than women in general. I don't know one man who could endure the level of physical pain that I and many other women have experienced throughout our lives. I mean, most men I know turn into total babies when they get so much as a cold. Nevertheless, I do think this is one of the areas where they have a biological advantage, and this is something that should not simply be swept under the gym mat.

And to be quite honest, I hate boxing in general. As an empath, I see violence as the absolute last resort. I'm not the type of person who can fight for money because I have to literally be seething in order to fight someone. I never understood how people could just plan a fight, promote it, beat the crap out of each other, then hug it out and move on like nothing ever happened. No, if you push me to that level, there’s absolutely no coming back from that! Money or not.

I still have family members who I think about boxing out over childhood flashbacks. Granted, that's a little different, but either way, in the words of the great American ratchet, Cardi B — nothing on the ratchet community; I’m 1/4 ratchet myself.

If it’s up, then it’s stuck

And for that matter…

Either way, I'm not here to judge how someone chooses to get their coins. So, when it comes to Claressa, if she's confident in her abilities, more power to her! I just truly hope she knows what she's doing. Clearly, Thurman has no qualms about hitting women, so I highly doubt he'll take it easy on her. Not that he has to or anything; if they're going to have a professional fight, it should certainly be a fair one.

At this point, I feel like she has about a 50/50 chance of winning this fight. Based on her confidence, she's either experienced enough to truly kick Keith's a** or delusional enough to believe she can. Either way, he accepted her challenge, so it looks like we'll all find out sooner than later.

But on the backhand…

My real concern is how such a thing can affect not only sports but also everyday women. On the one hand, I think men's and women's sports are separate for a reason, and they should remain that way. I just think the most dominant female athletes need more challenges and opportunities. The wage gap is definitely alive and well in pro sports, and I do think it's a shame that so many talented women athletes never truly reach their potential or even get a chance to display all of their talents due to the perceived lack of interest in women's sports.

However, I do fear that allowing this fight to happen will lead to a slippery slope, one that could force more female athletes to compete with males and one that may spill over into our everyday lives. If women start competing with men in physical sports such as boxing, I think more men will feel justified in being violent against women. Like I said in the beginning, the "equal rights for equal lefts" collective has been a thing, and I just know many men are looking for an excuse to start beating on women without consequence.

I mean, Black women are already disproportionately at risk for domestic violence. Ideally, such events would have no bearing on our everyday lives. Unfortunately, the average person is far more affected by the media than they should be. And studies have shown that sporting events of all kinds lead to increased violence against women and children. So, I don't think it's a stretch to believe it's possible for this stunt to adversely affect the lives of all women and children, but especially Black ones.

And I hope that you are having the time of your life But think twice, that’s my only advice, Claressa…

I mean, it's only a matter of time before a man trains like hell or even fights dirty to beat her. I'm not sure if she's met these men in real life, but many of them are anxiously resting on a thin layer of fragile masculinity as it is. In this fickle political climate, where rights are being snatched and misogyny is being emboldened, now may not be the time to stoke the proverbial "we're stronger than y'all" flames.

As much as we want to believe things are equal in society, men still make the rules, laws and enforce them. Yes, we do play a role in the process, but at the end of the day, this country, and most others, still operates in a "by men, for men" manner.

We’re also arguably in the midst of a gender war. I say arguably because I’m cognizant enough to know that as difficult as things are for women in America, other populations of women have had it much harder for far longer. And while I don’t really believe in the whole “race to the bottom” oppression Olympics politics, suffice it to say that as bad as things have been, they could get far worse if we don’t move strategically.

So, yes, be bold, get your coins, and honestly, do whatever you want to make yourself happy and achieve your goals, sis. But always remember that in this life, in this day and age, none of these moves are without consequence. We all have to take the good with the bad. So, in this case, I’m just wondering, have you truly considered how bad things could get?

How do you feel about women competing against men in pro sports?

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