Equal rights? Hardly. Land of the free? Guess again.

We say that as Americans we are sexually liberated, yet women are still bound to the belief that they have to embody sexual appeal in order to gain status and success.

The media has the nation in a crippling chokehold of conformity with fear ripping at our throats.

To see the affect that the media has had on women, look no further than journalist Julie Chen.

Chen, who is of Asian ethnicity, underwent eyelid surgery this year to give her a Caucasian-style double eyelid, according to nymag.com.

When she was asked why she had the surgery done, Chen replied that she wanted to look more alert and expressive. But in reality, she was merely trying to confirm to the harmful societal standards that say there is only one version of female beauty.

Television, entertainment and many books, re-enforce these absurd beliefs — that women are objects of sexual desire. This twists reality and constantly forces us to bow down to a delusional definition of femininity.

Sunken into submission, some people barely notice the bite of injustice festering on their ankles. Others aren’t as oblivious to the inequality shackled to them. Its heavy weight dragging behind their every step is like a permanent iron ball and chain.

Television networks and magazines use their barbarous power as they whip out their machine guns and rain bullets of insecurity and non-existent flaws upon the females in America.

Bloodthirsty cosmetic companies like Maybelline and Cover Girl create rippling waves of terror with their must-have beauty products that promise to mask your every “flaw”; soaking us in a crippling fear of our natural selves in order to encourage conformity of the social norms the media has bombarded our culture with.

Frantically, women are trying to escape from their own skin as if looking attractive by media’s definition will reward them with power and desirability. Even in our own Wildcat Store there is a designated section specifically for the wildly overpriced Clinique makeup.

As a result, able-bodied female victims are desperately struggling to stay alive. Surrendering to the media’s deceiving help, they seek refuge under the knife on an operating table or in the artificially-lit makeup aisle in vain efforts of social acceptance.

Unable to afford or endure the costs of being “sexually desirable,” the less fortunate women bleed out in the filthy streets as the self-confidence death toll mounts to a whole new level.

Only then will the media holster its weapon until the next attack while its group of believers hit a staggering height.

Valerie Teegardin can be reached at [email protected] or @vteegardin on Twitter.