In 2012, then freshman Cathryn Raney walked into a waiting room, expecting a conversation that would allow a look at the road to joining the Equine veterinary field. Yet, when she finally got her time with the veterinarian, he explained to her that she would not be able to pursue a career in equine studies (care for large animals such as horses), because she would not “be tall enough, [her] arms would not be long enough, and [she] would not be strong enough.” Now a junior, Raney wants to prove this stereotype wrong: females are the inferior sex.

“I think it is very rude to base my educational abilities on my gender,” Raney said. “I didn’t choose it, I had no control over it.”
Raney’s feminist views also push her to make the best decisions in order to move in the positive direction when it comes to deciding what her steps to success will be.

“I feel that men and women should be completely equal. Women can do anything men can do,” Raney said. “Women have the ability and the potential to do exactly what men can do, maybe even better.”

Her plans for the future involve attending Tarleton State University, a branch of Texas A&M.

“I want to go to Tarleton for their tech program in order for me to [enroll] at A&M and get my veterinary medicine license,” Raney said. “But I want to be able to specialize in Equine.”

Raney has been called a ‘femi-nazi’, because of her strong beliefs on gender equality.

“The crazy feminists that people refer to as the ‘man-haters,’ are not truly feminists,” Raney said. “Real feminists do not attack men; they let them know when they are doing something wrong.”

Raney was raised around her mother’s traditional beliefs and lifestyle, but she was not pushed to believe that her life needed to mirror her mother’s decisions. Raney said this allowed her to create her own opinions and lifestyle.

“My mother never told me, ‘You’re a woman, you need to stay in the house,’” Raney said. “I was never raised to believe traditional ideals of how I would have to raise my kids. I was allowed to make decisions on how I wanted to live my life.”

For her future, she believes there should not be anything that can be said or done to stop a dream or a plan.

“No one is any better than anyone else,” Raney said. “Any young child needs to be taught that treating someone like they are below you proves just how much lower you actually are.”