A few weeks ago my friend called me, upset that her boyfriend went to a trashy local strip joint at home. At the time I couldn’t fathom why she’d be upset; all I really had considered was the “boys will be boys” explanation. I thought it was nothing significant for any guy to participate in a token male bonding night that involves shoving folded cash into the garters of dancers wearing little more than 4-inch heels.

I tried to put myself in her shoes and thought a lot about the strip club’s ritual significance. Women are taking their clothes off on stage to satisfy the appetites of drooling spectators looking like starving animals being thrown steak. My, how similar that is to the “piece of meat” image women have been warding off for years now!

So why should I support the objectification of my gender? Even history says I shouldn’t.

In 1920, the right to vote was extended to women after more than 72 years of efforts by those involved in the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Susan B. Anthony was arrested in her battle for that right and other steps toward gender equality, and she died before she ever got to legally punch a ballot.

More than 156 years after the movement was initiated in the United States, women are not making pay equal to that of equally-qualified men, we are not holding as many jobs we’re as qualified for as men and according to the U.S. Department of Justice, we’re more than 10 times more likely to be sexually assaulted.

But instead of following in the suffragettes’ footsteps and working our hardest to prove ourselves equal, women are settling for degrading positions.

How are women ever going to get beyond inferior roles as sex objects by throwing themselves into just that role for easy money?

Some argue that “dancing” is a convenient way to support oneself, assist in paying for school and in taking care of other financial responsibilities. It isn’t the only way, nor a necessary way, and it isn’t doing much to give women a stronger image.

I know plenty of women, including myself, who are doing fine supporting themselves, some even supporting children, by working in a variety of other areas.

I would rather work extra hours and keep my dignity, knowing I am contributing to furthering the equal treatment of women.

Why don’t all women just stand on stages and take their clothes off to make a living? Hell, it’s better pay than I’ll probably get after I graduate. Why waste our time going to school when all that we need to pay our bills and live lavishly is to take off our clothes and shake it a little?

Why not? Because there is so much more to us than that. We can serve in Congress, be part of the U.S. Supreme Court, represent the country and the states within it. We can be scientists, athletes, astronauts, doctors, professors, lawyers and journalists. We can win Pulitzers, Nobel Prizes, Grammys and Oscars. We can be mentors, role models and mothers.

As Women’s History and Awareness Month closes, I hope women will begin honoring the real feminists, the ones who worked toward equality, by working toward positions in society that can make a difference. I urge women to take advantage of the opportunities our “foremothers” paved for us.

And I urge you, guys, to consider how you would want your sisters, friends, girlfriends and mothers supporting themselves.