Letter of the Day | Stop violating and shaming women

THE EDITOR, Madam:

How hard will it be to change the culture of generations of men who simply have no idea of the concept of boundaries, let alone how to respect them? These are generations of men who think that when we, the object of their focus, do that which we desire we are doing it to ‘spite’ them. Somehow, they have construed an entire world in their minds where they are the centre. They deem themselves not only the centre of their own twisted world, but they also project that. They must be the centre of the world of the one to whom they have decided to be (to put it gently) a menace! This person’s world must revolve around them and them only.

I was recently at a public location where a man, who could have possibly been my grandfather, spiked my hyper alertness around sexual abuse. Being a victim of sexual trauma, this is not unusual. This man not only invaded my personal space in a time where we should be six feet away from each other, but he also somehow thought I was there for his biddings. I had already been thoroughly annoyed by his gross disrespect of personal boundaries when he attempted to show me something on his phone. His arm was already wrapped around my shoulder by the time I could tell him I do not want to see. So, I had to push him off, repeatedly. I eventually got very stern and changed my location. Interestingly, shortly before this, he was constantly trying to have small talk with me when a much closer associate of mine had walked in and I hugged him and talked for a bit. This man then took it up on himself to ask me if I was doing this to spite him.

We have come to live in such a patriarchal society where women are body-shamed (albeit sometimes by other women), slut-shamed, period-shamed, womb-shamed, job-shamed, and the list goes on. And please, spare me the ‘women attract what they put out’ and the ‘they caused it upon themselves arguments’; those who posit anything of the like are the problem. If anything, I was masculine in my dress and demeanour. To bring it home, I recently experienced another such invasion by a man of a religion way more conservative than Christianity. The reality is that if a woman is dressed in a sheet, a garbage bag, or a hazmat suit, man still knows what lies beneath!

I submit to you that for humanity to evolve beyond its current state of chaos, woman needs to be restored to her rightful place where she is honoured and respected. Where her naked body is revered and not lusted after. Where she and those around her understand that her period is sacred and should be honoured. Where she is sought after for wisdom at the appropriate time of her bleed cycle. The seasons of the earth (MOTHER Nature), the cycles of the moon, the cyclical nature of woman, and woman must be respected and restored. Man is the crown, woman is the jewel on that crown, and together, we are the crowning jewel of creation. Let’s reinstate that!

ROWENA-RENEE XYMINES