I enjoy internet humor as much as the next person, but current trends have me confused to the point where I don't understand the comedic material behind it. Not only is there a theme of romanticizing the wrong things on the media lately, but it's on the market as well.
Just recently, the movie Suicide Squad hit the theaters. It had the public raging about the diversity, looks, actors, and mostly noted... the notorious pair of Harley Quinn and The Joker on screen. A strange fascination of their relationship follows the movie, although it's quite obvious it's not a healthy one. This movie is not completely to blame, the media is. Many don't understand that originally, there is nothing romantic about the couple in the comics, but the sugar-coated version of them on screen begs to differ; and suddenly it has young people everywhere flocking to find their "crazy" partner to mimic this relationship.
What is this strange humor found behind unhealthy relationships anyways? There are memes and jokes constantly made about controlling, manipulative, and harsh partners on big influential platforms like Twitter and Facebook; it brushes situations off to be humorous, not the dangerous abusive thing that it is. Sadly enough, it's still thriving because of the big amounts of people that either find it humorous or can relate to it and find themselves hoping their situation is just as funny, if not the same.
Not many people are aware of the fact that abuse culture is an issue to be confronted and stopped, because of the silence kept by victims. However, they're aware of the t-shirts with slandering comments and posters that perpetrate the kind of behavior they think is okay being sold, they're aware of the comments someone makes of their partner yet choose not to comment on it, and they're aware of abusive factors but label them as "relationship goals" because they think it's attractive, worryingly enough.
Writer and artist Zahira Kelly (@bad_dominicana on Twitter) started the Twitter trend #MaybeHeDoesn'tHitYou which highlights the importance of recognizing abuse culture.
It inspired people everywhere to speak on their experiences, including Akilah Hughes (@AkilahObviously).
The internet, although a sometimes wonderful and enlightening place, can be harsh and disrespectful when it comes to talking about abuse culture. This cause, along with many others, are vital for people who are confused or unaware of the state of their relationship, especially in light of all the material around that's made to convince them otherwise. Considering how hard it is for victims of abuse to confront these kinds of issues, media movements help them overcome their past or current situations.
We must teach others that being mistreated in any way, whether it's physical, verbal, or mental, is not accpetable. Bringing light to abuse culture in our media, books, market, and every day life situations should be more than common.
