#rapecw

[illidanstr]

also!  i am fairly sure that a lot of people do not realize how bad things in general still are from a gender dynamics perspective

I did not!  I dated a girl and I did not believe her about how systematically she was targeted for abuse and harassment.  It did not seem remotely plausible or reasonable or possible.  I didn’t think she was lying, but I thought she was interpreting much more into things than warranted.  

... and then I walked around a corner and saw someone harassing her, he stopped when I arrived

.... and then someone stopped their convertible next to say a bro-compliment to me which treated her like she was a cow 

both of these happened in a short period of time.  in a very liberal area.  I’ll absolutely agree that living in a left-wing voting zone is by no means any sort of protection.  

there is a class of people who experience absolutely horrific amounts of harassment.  there is a shockingly high number of men who participate in this harassment.  they tend to be quite good at not doing it while people who would object are around.  

I think a lot of men read things written by women and think they mean “i’ll destroy your life for being slightly socially awkward” when they actually mean “I wish that dude would stop trying to force or coerce me to fuck him” or “I don’t like it when people proposition me on the street and start escalating when I reject them” 

[shepardingweasels]

I doubt many people know this about me but with the current wave of people all over the world breaking the silence on their abuse I feel truly inspired and supported in telling my story. I used to think that rape and sexual assault was something that a stranger did to you, they broke into your home or they cornered you in an ally and that it is violent, and you are supposed to kick and scream. My assault was not like this, a person I trusted told me what I was going to do and didn’t care about my opinion on what I wanted. My verbal consent was forced and manipulated out of me, robbing me of my voice in what should always be a free and open exchange. This person told me who I was and dictated to me my own worth, and in so doing, stole from me my sexual power and enjoyment as well as peace and silence in my own brain. It still hurts, it hurts that I was victimised and traumatised, and I hurts that, even now many years later I still struggle. But what I want to emphasise in this story is the overwhelming support I have received, from beautiful people, trained professionals and my wonderful friends and family alike. And also I want to share the wisdom I have gained, even if I had to learn it through pain and heartbreak. The wisdom that no one can dictate your own worth to you, no one can tell you who you are or tell you that you don’t own parts of yourself, like your power, pleasure and happiness. And if one person reads this and finds comfort, solidarity and love in what I have said then I did the right thing. And please, if you are in pain don’t suffer in silence, tell someone, get help, you don’t deserve to feel alone and ashamed, organisations like Rape crisis and the Youth Enquiry Service truly are saviours so please reach out, be brave.

And FYI, I did start taekwondo, I did compete at a national level and when they held up my hand to declare my gold medal victory with tears streaming down my face, my only thought was: “Fuck. You!”

#metoo #survivor#artistsoninstagram #art #gouache #feminist #feminism #femaleartist #mentalhealth #rapesurvivor #rapecrisis #youthenquiryservice #taekwondo

[ponder-osapine]

As I bask in the glow Of an unseasonable sun I wonder what crime we have done That our sisters and brothers in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe reach with tired hands For the aid supply of food because their lands Are disintegrating into desert and yield fruit no more And the rains that used to come from the Atlantic shore To quench the thirst of the earth and encourage her to give birth To the yams and the cattle that give their lives worth No- Now there are millions eaten by the pain That foils their toils because there is no rain And then we must ask: who is to blame? Those farmers in Africa, they just don’t work hard enough Wrong – the economy in Ethiopia is booming It is the threat of global destruction looming We can’t see it here and deny it, proving The guilt is on us for ignoring our friends Desperate to be blind instead of make amends Because we know deep down that the reason We are enjoying the summer in our winter season Is the same cause of the drought attacking the Global South Is the same bane that sparked Melbourne aflame Is the same feat that put England and Paraguay five feet deep Under floods of the life-giving aqueous blood denied where it would be so good These are but the growing pains of the bastard son El Niño, birthed by the rape of our mother for wealth for some Oil and gas, I’m taken aback, why can’t you see what we have done? Why can’t we acknowledge that our emissions have led us to this fatal condition Where solar and wind can only put us in remission For this all-consuming toxic addiction To want more, to need it now, to get it cheap, but never ask how The rest of the world will suffer when we Distort our vision of reality To gain power and the aid of Mestophiles But what is the price of that ephemeral reign We cannot control the reins Of this monster we created in our own name To somehow earn us enough fame That we can forget from whence we came Until our mother reminds us and holds back the rain.

[getangryresponsibly-blog]

Just saw a post by someone who thinks rape is a natural male instinct and now I have to go flush my eyeballs. When will people realize that rape isn't written into men's DNA?! People are so much more complicated than their hormones. And women are not depersonalized objects for men's presumed innate sexual frustration. Stop teaching boys that disrespecting girls is natural