Tuesday, July 3, 2012

I recently read an article where a group of men were asked what they did to prevent getting raped. The guys just looked around with a wtf look on their faces. Then the women were asked the same question and almost every hand shot up. We have it backward in this country. Women should not have to do things to protect themselves from rape; men need to be taught rape is unacceptable.

Rapes do not occur because the woman did something wrong. Rape occurs because the rapist chooses to rape. Rape is about power not sex. Let me say that again because most people cannot grasp this simple concept. RAPE IS ABOUT POWER NOT SEX. It has nothing to do with what we are wearing, where we go or at any particular time of day or night we choose to go there. In fact most rape occurs in the safety of our homes by people we know.  Did you know that? In the safety of our homes rape is perpetrated by spouses,  family members, a neighbor, even the gas man or the like.

We live in a rape culture. Misogyny is king. You want to be safe; you want your mother, wife, daughter to be safe. Then create a new mindset. Make a paradigm change. Show the female as valuable despite the dogma of religion and society. Show the female as equal. As long as women are seen as less than in our society, women will be treated as less than. We live in a society where women are sexualized as the norm. They are prized not for their minds but for their sexual appeal and criticized when they take control of this sexual appeal.

Our societal view is so skewed, we think a woman overly sexualized, even victimized in an ad to sell a product is acceptable, but show a mother breast feeding, one of the single most amazingly beautiful  experiences one can witness and groups especially right wing religious groups come out of the wood work to proclaim it as filth. “What am I supposed to tell my children” one mother proclaims aghast at this horridly disgusting spectacle.

I would like to offer some options of what can be said to address this situation besides covering a child’s eyes and running away thus deeply engraining this child with the idea of a woman suckling her young is the worst thing that can be witnessed.  For example, “I know right? Isn’t this beautiful?”  “She is creating a special bond to last a lifetime.”  “She is feeding her child the most nutritious food she can.”  It is not that difficult people.

You want to protect your mother, daughter, sister, yourself? Change how you look at women, change how you think about woman, change everything you have been taught. Only then will things change.

2% of all rape claims are false. 2% this is equal to false reports in most other crimes. If a woman claims rape there is a 98% likelihood she is telling the truth.  Stop blaming the victim. Start targeting the rapist, this mutherfucker enabled by a willing society and hold him accountable!

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