Trigger warning: Rape and sexual assault.
In the past I have talked about my mental health issues and how it affects my blogging. What I haven’t mentioned on my blog before is that November is a difficult month for me, and in particular, today is a difficult day for me. But this week, I am struggling to think about much else.
Today, I am thinking about consent.
Consent infographic by Haven Oakland
Trigger warning: Discussion of street harassment, catcalling and assault.
As many people will have noticed, yesterday was International Women’s Day. International Women’s Day is a global event, in which many people take the time to celebrate the achievements of feminism and to consider how far we still have to go – and yes, we definitely have a long way to go. Unfortunately, International Women’s Day also seems to enrage or annoy many people, who, rather than taking the time to learn about why the event is still necessary, instead complain, “What’s the point? Women got equality 50 years ago. If women get a day, why is there no International Men’s Day?”. Explaining all of the current issues feminism is tackling is a huge subject, one which I am not going to try to attempt. But, since it’s International Women’s Day, I thought I would take the time to write a short post focused on feminism. In particular, I would like to talk about my experiences with objectification and street harassment.
Femme Nation: Part of a photo series by Hailey Corrall.