I have never been shamed for breastfeeding. But saying that I have never been shamed for breastfeeding is like saying that I have never been raped. It doesn’t really matter. I still live in fear of it. No, I don’t mean shuddering in fear and unable to live my life. I mean my behavior (and yours) is shaped by the experiences of other women. I don’t walk alone at night. I am always aware of my surroundings. I walk briskly through empty parking garages. I would never think of cutting down an alley at night. As a matter of fact, I won’t even do it during the day in my neighborhood. I have lived my whole life being shaped by a culture where women are brutally abused every single day, where the responsibility lies on me to not be victimized. [Read more…]
Women, Expect to be Abused
Have you ever noticed that when a woman is harassed, raped, abused, or otherwise violated that people blame her for it? People often say things like, “She shouldn’t have been drinking at that party,” “She shouldn’t have been so rude to that guy,” “She was wearing a mini skirt at a frat party, what did she expect?” “She sleeps with a lot of guys, you can’t rape the willing.” “She should have stuck with her friends.” [Read more…]
