Home | Letters | IT CANNOT JUST VANISH INTO THIN AIR

IT CANNOT JUST VANISH INTO THIN AIR

Font size: Decrease font Enlarge font

Sir,

 

For the past years, since women started fighting for equal rights with men, there have been numerous campaigns that have not only been aimed at gaining political rights and privileges, but also fighting the cultural norms that allow the objectification of women. What woman can say she has walked comment-free on the streets, and no man even whistled at her to get her attention? Women have been looked at as sex objects, been treated as such and the sad thing is that this happens every minute of every day. One does not even want to imagine what those men who shout comments at women are capable of doing should they find that woman in a place that is away from the public eye.

Comments

The comments can be from the dress code to the shape of your butt, and the size of your bosom. One time, I was probably around 15 years old; I was passing by a group of men when one of them shouted, ‘waze wasibuka ngemehlo asekamelweni’ (you are looking at us with bedroom eyes). Now that I’m older, looking back I realise that even a comment as simple as that can propel one to pursue a ‘bedroom act’ with a woman. It is hard to accept that a woman cannot walk freely without men imagining her in the bedroom. 

Fight

However, the fight against sexual abuse perpetuated by objectification of women simply cannot be won by only getting all the men to stop passing sexual comments at women. Women routinely simulate sex acts/probes every day. 

Yes, men can leave us alone, but what about the clothing stores that sell sweat pants that say JUICY on the butt, how about the T-shirts that say ‘Do Me’ on the front? What about the sexually explicit music videos that target the twins? And if we really want to crack down on the sexualisation of women we might want to consider their role models. Our female CEOs, lawyers, feminist celebs, all these powerful women who routinely get boob-jobs just to feel better about themselves. And what about the mothers, many of whom wear low-cut jeans and show both types of cleavages?

I understand and support the fact that women empowerment includes teaching women to be comfortable in their own skin and accept themselves the way they are. It is of paramount importance that women understand that they do not have to feel the pressure that is placed upon them by society to achieve a certain image that is considered perfect. 

But we should also be careful with the things that we women do to deliberately, capture the wrong type of attention and then turn around and scream ‘sexual harassment’! 

Recognise

We recognise that people have some responsibility for the way in which people react to them. It is without doubt that no woman asks for rape, or is ever flattered by the sexual comments from men, because frankly, it is disgusting. But the question is; what is the purpose of the ‘JUICY’ and the ‘DO ME’ on pants and T-shirts? Is it not partially the wearer’s responsibility if a man wants to find out if indeed you are juicy and doable? 

 

Nomsa 



Comments (0 posted):

Post your comment comment

Please enter the code you see in the image: