Tuesday, June 7, 2011

If you overhear discussion about a woman being stranger- or date-raped by a man, you probably should ask this...

"What was HE wearing?"

(And not "What was she wearing?")

What she was wearing is irrelevant to some man deciding he had the right and entitlement, as well as the power and will, to take something from her she wasn't offering and that he has no business trying to take in the first place. What he was wearing might lead to him being found and removed from the community.

photo is from here

2 comments:

  1. sweet. :) and how was he moving, occupying space. i'm tired of the aggressive male stances and energies that flow through the city scape as i attempt to move through it. i think that men who behave as men are taught to behave should be tripped, shoved, not accomodated and just generally harassed on a regular basis. hehehe. just made to feel uncomfortable and put in positions where they are forced to do some much needed self critique. "why were my hands in my pockets playing with change? might a woman take that as me fondling myself?" "why was i standing in shared social space with my legs astride and my body held rigid? would a woman feel as if i was attempting to threaten her with my body?" "why was i using my big man voice in that group conversation? did i need to be speaking over the less aggressive tones of the wimmin in the conversation? did this allow me to control the flow of conversation?" "why was i flexing my muscles? was this my way of letting all the wimmin around know that i could overpower them?" maybe if they were offered lots of negative and completely unaccommodating attention, they'd start blaming themselves and think about ways to present differently, less patriarchally.

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  2. I'm really glad that your comment is right here, Dark Daughta, for every man who reads this post to consider, deeply.

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