I say this all the time. No, really, every time I read something like this. Or like this. Or like this, this, and this. It’s like we’re living in an episode of Mad Men, except nobody I know looks like Don Draper and it’s not socially acceptable for me to have a bottle of vodka on my desk at work anymore. All the sexual harassment of 1960, none of the fun.

I’ve written before about the Cult of True Womanhood, and students of 20th century history may have read what I wrote and said, “Hey! That sounds just like the 1950’s.” YES. Women made all that fantastic progress during World War II and then, holy crap, the post-war era happened. Was this a great time for women’s liberation? Not so much. But, remember what I said about progress? And how it’s steps in the right direction, and you don’t give up trying or declare victory just because you made a few steps forward or took a few steps back. No, you keep trying and fighting and dragging society kicking and screaming towards justice. And it takes time, and it’s hard and slow, but we keep our eyes on the prize, right?

So here we are again, in yet another nadir of progress for women’s rights. Sure, things are great for gay folks and their rights right now, and I cried with joy when I read the Supreme Court’s decision on DOMA. (I was on a bus on the way to work, reading it on my smart phone. The people on the bus all looked at me like I was crazy. It was awesome.) There are good days sometimes for those of us who lean left, and that was definitely one of them. But then it becomes the summer of anti-choice legislation and women not being allowed to bring tampons into the Texas Capitol building because, watch out, those Tampax are dangerous. You might put someone’s eye out with that thing. Also, eew, keep away from me with your lady products. You’re grossing me out just thinking about something every woman does every month for decades and decades of their lives. Women’s bodies are gross, mmmkay? This is why we have to pass laws telling you what to do with them. OY. Seriously, what year is this?!?!

It gets really hard to keep fighting these fights. I get it, I am tired too. But part of being a woman, especially one who is a mom, is knowing that we have to keep fighting for equality. Because I don’t want my daughter living in some Handmaid’s Tale dystopian future. Hell, at this rate, if we don’t fight for it, she won’t even have access to birth control when she is a stupid teenager and she thinks that guy in her class is SO CUTE and it turns out he’s got the clap AND she’s pregnant and OMG, this is why we have to keep fighting. Because as exhausting as it is, it’s easier than living with a teen mom with the clap.