How is it acceptable that nearly every woman that I know has either been sexually abused, assaulted or harassed at some point in her life? How is it acceptable that we expect women to just move on? I asked a male friend of mine about this one time.... it was in the context of rape being used as a method of torturing men in Syrian prisons. My question was, If you - a man - were raped in a Syrian prison, do you think you would be able to just get over it and resume a normal sex life? His reaction was one of extraordinary rage (I'd kill the MF that did that to me!) followed by a feeling that he would never be able to get past it.....
And yet for thousands of years, this is the cultural expectation of women. We are raped, abused, assaulted and then expected to move on. It's especially true when male partners express frustration about sexual dysfunction in life after assault .... and as women we become afraid that we're going to be abandoned. We pull ourselves up by our bootstraps in an effort to move on. But perhaps now we are shining a light on a cultural sickness that deserves attention.... it is a sickness that has allowed sexual assault and harassment to fester in the shadows.... It is a sickness that says that the woman shares in the blame.... it's a sickness that automatically assumes that the woman accusing Nelly of rape in Auburn last week was making it up for attention.... It is a sickness that ostracizes women that come forward because it's just too hard for others to hear about it.... It is my sincere desire, as I am raising a daughter, that we are reaching a point as a society where we say NO MORE.
#metoo #nomore
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