I will not tell girls not to walk alone.
July 4, 2015 12:08 PM   Subscribe

I will not tell girls not to walk alone. I will not tell them to be careful.
Did I want to talk about the man who dragged me to the ground, kicked my face in, broke my nose, sliced my lips, fractured my skull, blackened both my eyes and stamped his footprint on to my cheek? Did I think it was my responsibility to become a spokesperson for the propagation of an exclusive brand of female fear? No, I did not, and, no, I do not. I will not tell girls not to walk alone. I will not tell them to be careful, to live defensively and travel only in herds. This is no answer, only kindling to a fire of fear, lit in the first stages of adolescence and fuelled by the diesel of vulture-like news reports of violence against females. The power of masculinity relies on control and discipline of the body in public and private spaces.
posted by Fence (1 comment total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: This is a powerful piece, but this framing is not the best way to present it. Drop us a line if you want to talk about picking a new pull-quote or placing it differently. -- restless_nomad



 
Maybe a tag that this is not an easy read and may trigger for some. At the least, consider putting that block quote below the fold.
posted by Fizz at 12:37 PM on July 4, 2015 [2 favorites]


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