I don't like taking an issue and making it my own but I can't keep quiet about the social media tripe that follows up legitimate awareness campaigns like this. I'm talking about the "all men are at blame" attitude.
Posts like this:
I need you to think back to the most uncomfortable moments in your sexual history, and I need you to ask yourself if maybe they were worse than uncomfortable for your partner. I'm asking you to search your soul and think if any of these encounters might have been sexual assault.
Or
- At work or out in the world, don't call women cutesy names like "honey, baby, darling, kiddo, young lady, girl, or dear".
- Don't use gendered or misogynist insults. Bitch, cunt, slut, pussy, f*g, girly, sissy, cuck, etc.
- If there are little boys, teen boys, and young men in your life, role-model that the feminine is not less-than. Challenge them on their dismissive ideas around what counts as "girl stuff". Buy them a doll. Paint your nails together. Show up wearing pink.
- Be wary of constantly or only telling little girls they're pretty and cute or commenting on their hairstyle & clothing.
I reserve the right to call guys "bitches" or "cunts." Why can't I comment on a girl's looks when she is clearly dressed up as I would a boy who looks handsome. We're social creatures, appearance counts for a lot. Why should I have to paint my nails?
It bothers me.
Not as much as the fucking awful amount of sexual assault and harassment of course but it's compounded by the fact that if I speak my opinion on these matters, and it's hardly a militant, definitive opinion, I know I'd be attacked for it.