Our conditioning has been conditioned, y’all. Patriarchy, misogyny and anti-women sentiments are prevalent in our world today and the world of the past that it would be unrealistic to believe it hasn’t seeped into the minds of those it was meant to suppress: women. If we’re not careful, we’ll find ourselves repeating the very notions that have been used to keep us down.
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Shaming Women for Sexual Agency
From the minute women’s bodies start developing, you better believe there’s a woman telling her about the new responsibility that’s fallen on this child’s shoulders. She has to dress a certain way now, can’t get too close to certain people now. If she violates any of these rules, she will, at best be labeled “fast” and at worst become the victim of some type of assault. While I certainly received some of these messages and understand that the women in my life were trying to protect me, a child should not feel responsible for deflecting the inappropriate attention from grown men who should have been taught better.
