“What rights do men have that women don’t?”

I’m a conservative feminist and I’m gonna try to break it down for y’all. Most of it is not legislated. It’s societal norms that, I feel, are the most threatening to women. It’s “boys will be boys.” It’s “Well, what were you wearing? How much were you drinking? Did you lead him on?” It’s the idea that women should have to choose between a career and a family. We are up against things the government can’t legislate away for us.

I wanted to take a minute to recognize one of the most obvious and damaging issue women face: sexual assault.

1 out of 4 women are assaulted in the United States... the right to sovereignty over our bodies...to choose who/when/where we want to have sex with is right that men have that 1/4 of US women had stripped from them at some point in her life.

How do you even fight that? Do we allocate resources for sexual education? Do we make the consequences more severe? The conviction rate is pretty low. Most women don’t report. It’s even worse for men who find that masculinity is a deterrent.

THE ABSENCE OF CONSENT DOES NOT INHERENTLY MEAN YES.

THE ABSENCE OF NO IS NOT CONSENT.

CONSENT IS YES.

ASK YOUR PARTNER. MAKE REAL SURE.

JUST ASK.

THEN ASK AGAIN.

AND AGAIN ONE MORE TIME TO MAKE SURE.

This heinous crime should disgust everyone. But, as much as everyone says it does, they certainly don’t act like it. I can’t believe rape jokes, or using the term rape in any other context other to describe a violent sex crime is still a thing. Saying, “Alabama raped Auburn in the Iron Bowl.” makes me cringe. People reference sexual violence so frivolously.

Battling that is more difficult than getting laws passed. You're not dealing with a sovereign state. You're at war with an invisible enemy.

It's not legislative privilege (although women only make up 20% of congress), it's societal privilege. It's getting away with verbally and physically bullying a young girl because she has boobs. The government will never legislative the norms of society. Ever.

I don't expect men to ever fully understand what it's like to be a woman. With that said, I truly wish men would just listen. At least entertain our thoughts before dismissing them. Chances are you know a woman who has been assaulted. It’s a tough topic. No one wants to talk about it. I’m not blaming all men. Men are wonderful allies. Men can advocate for women in places that are difficult for women to advocate for ourselves. Men certainly aren’t the enemy. I just wish they wouldn’t get so defensive when sexual assault is brought up. We need to find a solution, and the only way we’re going to do that is together.

We aren’t doing something right if 1 out of 4 women in the US are sexually assaulted in her lifetime. It’s damn time we do something about it.

Stop over simplifying an issue and dismissing it in favor of a societal structure that only benefits one sex.