Editor’s note: Kara Alaimo, an associate professor of communication at Fairleigh Dickinson University, writes about issues affecting women and social media. At work, women on average earn just 84 cents for every dollar earned by men and are up against endless stereotypes about why they’re not leadership material. “Anyone who’s been on social media in the last ten years has seen the memes: ‘Mommy needs wine.’ ‘I wine because my kids whine.’ You can buy infant onesies that say ‘I’m the reason mommy drinks’ on Amazon,” Yvonne points out. It requires social structures such as an adequate childcare system and resources for women who need to leave abusive homes. We all also need to stop sharing jokes and memes that suggest it’s humorous for people of any gender to deal with the stresses they’re up against by imbibing carcinogens.

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Persons: Kara Alaimo, Kara, Celeste Yvonne, it’s, Yvonne, they’re, who’s, ” Yvonne, —, I’ve, Holly Whitaker, Carol Lee Flinders, ” Whitaker Organizations: Fairleigh Dickinson University, Women, Press, Facebook, CNN, JAMA, Pew Research Center, US Centers for Disease Control Locations: United States