Women as Property?

Last night while playing video games with my boyfriend and his friend, the conversation flowed toward the topic of motorcycle gangs. My boyfriend and his father both ride motorcycles and he was talking about his father's gang which is charity based. He acknowledged his disdain for the word "gang" because of the negative connotation that accompanies it.

My first question was to ask why people join motorcycle gangs. According to motorcycle philosophy.org, the purpose of joining is oftentimes brotherhood. There are various groups founded on sobriety, religious faith, and the military. The two most well known gangs in Saint Louis are The Saddletramps and the El Forastero's who are often said to be enemies.

The conversation in particular that came up was the fact that there is an El Forastero clubhouse in the city of Saint Louis that his mom and dad sometimes go to. However, his mom hates going to it because of the way women are looked at -- as property. There are two rules for the clubhouse: no one is allowed to bring their cell phone in and the women are not supposed to look at any men, but rather just sit there with their head down. If one of the members of the gang does catch them looking, they will go to the woman's husband and either confront him verbally or physically because they can't control their "property".

After this conversation, I couldn't stop questioning why any woman would want to partake in a relationship like this. However, it only got worse. My roommate's mother rides motorcycles so I decided to reach out to her and ask what she knew about the gangs. She told me that the wives of these two gangs are expected to wear patches that say "Property of ____." She doesn't belong to any particular gang and just rides independently because she doesn't want to be controlled. She explained how disheartening it is to see women allow themselves to be treated and referred to as "property". I started thinking about how women were considered to be men's property in the 1800's and how even in 2018, there are still men who regard women in this way and women who allow it and even take pride in it.

When I hear about things like this, it makes me realize just how important women's rights activists and movements are. It makes me proud to identify as a feminist, but also saddened at the same time. There are still strides to be taken and we must continue this long and arduous struggle to be regarded as humans and equal to our male counterparts. We must allow all genders to identify as feminists and unite to squash our oppressors.