One of the hardest topics for someone to discuss: Rape. For women, this is one, if not the most, horrifying thing to think about.
Rape is a fear that's embedded in the mind of every young girl as they go through puberty and become more attractive, the more they grow. For some, it seems almost like a far away dream, but to others it's a very real situation that they've had to face. It could be your mother, your sister, daughter, close friends, even, friends that you've forgotten as the years have gone by. Now while rape isn't merely singled out to just women, it seems that they take the most in terms of brutal sexual treatments.
I've come to realize during my time being a college student that it isn't just me who faces this fear, it's everyone. Almost every girl that's holding her keys while walking to her car late at night has that same pink tube of pepper spray dangling from her key-chain. There are services on campus that you can call to pick you up and take you where you need to go in the middle of the night, and this surely isn't for those too lazy to walk across campus. We're offered rape defense classes and have podiums stationed every hundred or so yards just in case of emergency, and why? Because rape is such a terrifying reality that all women have to face.
Even once I began to develop as a young girl I was subject to harassment from boys. I was growing breasts, and they were interested. As time went on and boys suddenly realized how much they liked girls it simply got worse.
I, as well as many other women that I know, have been subject to the disgusting harassment and embarrassment that comes from being female. Walking down the street you may hear cat-calls and it takes every fiber of your being not to drop to the ground and die right there. You feel violated, scared, and alone. Your mom tells you that you need to be careful when you start going out alone. Mine was terrified the first time I went to the mall with my girlfriends because she was afraid I'd be abducted.
Why is it that in this day and age, such a beautiful time where people are being accepted for who they are and learning more about society than ever before, are we still so worried about rape? Why do we have to be? Why is it that women are still so overly sexualized in the media and why are men given such leniency on their actions?
No, boys will not "just be boys." No, I will not "come over here, baby." No, women are not merely for men's pleasure. We are not pieces of meat and we aren't for consumption.
I've read and heard countless stories of rape from young and old women of every race, class, and sexuality. Their lives are ruined. They will never have a relationship the same way again or even be able to normally face a man. My heart breaks for those that have had such horrible experiences and there are no words that will ever make it 'okay.'
Rape is something that holds itself over every woman's head and it probably will for as long as they're alive. When I'm coming home after work I have to walk with pepper spray in my hand and my finger at the ready just in case someone approaches me. When I go out to eat with my friends and a group of men pay extra attention to us, I'm afraid. We are constantly afraid of this big purple elephant in the room because it just won't go away.
Not only has rape stemmed from just strangers but it's centralized itself into families. Young girls are molested by their fathers, their brothers, distant uncles, and family friends. People who are supposed to love you, protect you, and they do the most unimaginable act of violation that has ever existed. What kind of monster could do such a thing? We all ask ourselves this, and why?
Why should a woman have to be so afraid of the possibility that she could be violated at all hours of the day? Not only are we paid 77 cents off of every man's dollar, but we're also apparently around for a completely unwanted sexual encounter. How is that right? It's not.
This fear needs to go away, it needs to stop. Mothers shouldn't have to worry that their girls are going to be abducted by men when they go to the mall, girls shouldn't be afraid to walk home at night from the parking lot, and nobody should be subject to disgusting cat-calls on the street.
Men that believe that it's alright to take what they want from who they want are deluded imbeciles. The near future should be one where nobody is afraid of their home or public place that they've gone out to. Girls will be able to wear what they want, when they want, and not be shamed for it. Nobody was "asking for it", and just because a girl wears a tank top because it's over ninety degrees outside doesn't make her your prey.
I really hope and pray for a time when women can live free and open lives without men leaning over their shoulder. I want this fear to go away and become a thing of the past. And while this may take time, it may never go away.
To all of those brave young women who have held in their stories of violation, who haven't been believed, or who have had to submit to the wills of others because they were too afraid, I treasure you. I marvel at those women who are so strong and so brave and have had to face their fears head on.
I hope that for those that haven't experienced rape or molestation never have to. Remember that there will always be someone there for you and that you can overcome any difficulties. Rape isn't always an easy subject to talk about but we all should come to terms with how real it is and how it needs to stop.
