End the Dehumanization of Girls and Women Now!

Every couple of minutes or so a girl or woman is sexually assaulted in the U.S.—and in the world.

The number of seriously battered wives and girlfriends is far beyond the ability of any agency to count. We’re all implicated in this carnage because the relentless violence against women and girls is linked at its core to the wider society’s casual willingness to dehumanize women and girls, to see them first and foremost as sexual vessels—objects—and never, ever as the equals of men.—Bob Herbert, “ Why Aren’t We Shocked? ” (PDF)

But as you know, these “every couple of minutes or so” isn’t when the brutality started. And after the horror is not when the brutality ends.

Every girl and woman lives every day in a man’s world where there is no escape from a rape culture. That’s 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Every day girls and women are made to feel less.

Every day girls and women are never equal to boys and men.

Every day girls and women are taught to barter their sexuality and beauty for favors, jobs, attention.

Every day girls and women are taught to please boys and men, regardless and at any cost.

Every day girls and women who boys and men perceive are “not pretty enough” or “pure enough” or “feminine enough” are made to feel they are worthless, spoiled goods, nothing.

Every day girls and women are dehumanized. They are property. Things.

Every day girls and women are slaves. Trafficked. Bought. Sold.

Every day girls and women are terrorized and terrified.

Every day girls and women are taught to dress defensively, lower their gaze, pray in the other room, walk ten steps behind, stay in the kitchen, hide their features or she is blamed for what happens to her.

Every day girls and women are raped, beaten, brutalized, abused and then blamed for being raped, beaten, brutalized, abused.

Every day girls and women are taught not to be raped, beaten, brutalized, abused. All the rape cultures of the world teach boys and men that it’s okay to rape, beat, brutalize, and abuse girls and women.

Every day girls’ and women’s “roles” are enforced. Every day her choices are limited by boys and men.

Every day girls and women are learn to nurse, protect, and nurture boys and men, regardless of how those boys and men treat them.

This list could go on and on.

Every day girls and women are relentlessly and forever condemned to servitude, otherness, brutalization, and dehumanization.

Why?

Bullying, male privilege, power, violence. (See Men, Stop Blaming Women, Women Are Human Beings.)

But does knowing why girls and women are dehumanized every day really help? No.

If the house is on fire, you don’t want to sit around and first figure out how the fire was started or why it continues to burn. Unless you started the fire, you want to put the fire out.

And we have to put this fire out.

What will forever end how girls and women are taught to live with being dehumanized and forever stop how girls and women are brutalized and dehumanized?

I think we should support the rapidly growing Slutwalk movement. Slutwalks are sweeping not only this nation, but also sweeping other nations all over the world!

Girls and women—and as straight up feminism notes, and feminist boys and men—have to join and support these protests. May these protests remain nonviolent!

We have to remain relentless and be nonstop in our efforts to stop the dehumanization of girls and women.

Sure, it’s an overwhelming task. So what? So what if it’s going to take a lot of time and effort and vigilance? It’s worth it.

It’s worth it to finally heal and make whole all of humanity.

We just have to want to stop dehumanizing girls and women with all our hearts and minds—and then stop dehumanizing girls and women now!

Start by being “the change you want to see in the world,” as Gandhi said. Blog and reblog. Teach. Read. Learn. Join Slutwalks. Organize Slutwalks. Stop patronizing music, movies, novels, all media that dehumanizes girls and women. Stop laughing at sexist jokes. Unfriend people who dehumanize girls and women. Let’s be creative. In our hearts we know what we need to do.

Think nonviolent. Be nonviolent

Just work to end the dehumanization of girls and women now!

How you start by being “the change you want to see in the world”:

“Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.”—Albert Schweitzer

“One’s life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation and compassion.”—Simone de Beauvoir