Every woman has a common fear.
When they step outside of their comfort zone they put themselves in danger every day. It’s hard to accept much from strangers when you don’t know what they carry on them, or if they are stronger than you are.
Being a woman in this modern society is terrifying. Instead of being seen as equal beings, women are often belittled, ignored, and accused of constantly overreacting. A perfect example set in the modern day is the recent that happened to television personality and American fashion model Gigi Hadid. While walking around in Milan during Fashion week, Hadid was picked up from behind by a complete stranger. This stranger not only took Hadid by surprise, but also picked her up in such a way that she didn’t have much room to move, let alone protect herself. Luckily, Hadid knows how to take care of herself, and managed to elbow her attacker in the face.
Eventually the attacker released Hadid and she was able to enter her car and get away. Days after the attack Hadid was ridiculed for assaulting her assailant. Publications such as The Sun and Page Six created stories of a sexist nature that allowed Hadid’s assailant to look innocent. But really, who could possibly think it’s okay to invade a complete stranger’s space? The Sun’s publication headline said that Hadid had aggressively lashed out at a fan, and Page Six’s article called the assailant a “prankster”. The Sun has since then changed the headline, but it doesn’t alter the fact that Hadid—for a moment—had a negative light casted on her situation.
Hadid was attacked unexpectedly, defended herself well, and was cast in the shadows. What about that person that did the attacking? He picked a complete stranger off the ground, in broad daylight with multiple cameras and witnesses around. This assailant, was later identified as celebrity prankster Vitalii Sediuk, who tried to ambush Kim Kardashian in Paris just six days after the incident with Gigi Hadid.
No matter how famous or daring someone is boundaries have to be respected. More than that, anyone who has that those boundaries violated has the most basic of primal rights to defend themselves. Women have their boundaries violated on a daily basis and they should never be belittled for protecting themselves.
Do you know what the ultimate fear for a woman is today? Having to deal with people that don’t know the definition of “no”. Having to deal with people that don’t respect human beings, because gender creates horrible double standards, are the ultimate fear for a woman. It’s hard to live life properly when you’re not given the same perspective as others. That can never stop anyone from living, but the twisted ideas that people have about this situation has to stop.
Gigi Hadid is a woman that lives her life and knows how to protect herself. When the time comes for her to use what she knows in the right time society shouldn’t look down on her. Look down at the people that couldn’t take a minute to understand the issue they were creating. Those people are the ones that create the fears.
