I believe in demanding respect for women. I believe in respecting yourself, even if to simply halt degradation around the world. I believe that until women begin to feel globally responsible for each woman who lives through involuntary objectification, sexual exploitation will continue to grow.
Thankfully, I have never been a victim of rape, my father never sold me into prostitution, and I have never felt in danger of sexual harm. I have, as any teenager has, witnessed the less obvious objectification of women that fuels the more serious crimes against humanity.
Recently, I went with a friend to Bourbon Street, a ‘dance’ club in Baltimore. It is impossible to walk ten feet into the club without being touched, rubbed on, or, in my opinion, and generally violated. It may seem that I should let each woman act how she pleases; it’s not my business what someone else enjoys, but I feel globally responsible for showing men that a woman's body is not created to satisfy men. Objectifying yourself and losing your dignity for the pleasure of a man in your own bedroom is a personal decision, but in public, it simply teaches that men are the superior, powerful gender.
Freedom is beautiful, and I’m glad that each woman can choose to do with her body as she pleases. I simply hope that one day, despite the freedom given, we as women will band together, say enough is enough, and stop degrading ourselves for the benefit of men. I hope that we will stop setting the stage for sexual exploitation. I hope that we will stop letting men enjoy us for our bodies, but instead for our hearts. I hope that we will see that selling young girls into prostitution is not okay, and that it is fueled by the actions of women around the world. I hope that we will learn to keep our clothes on, grow some (hypothetical) balls, and stop being submissive to men who judge us by our looks, whistle at us on the street, and shout vulgar comments. I hope we learn to keep our boobs in our shirts and stop flaunting our asses as advertisements.
I believe that you and I are not tasty 12 oz steaks on a plate, and we are not paintings on a wall to be gawked at.
