Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you today. It has been a busy week of work, writing, and running. I’m also planning my youngest’s open house, so there’s a bit of extra work involved in that, too.
But enough about that. Today, I want to talk about a theme that’s been making its way around Facebook and the internet. Apparently, an author (James Fell) wrote a blog post asking women if they were alone in the woods, would they rather meet a bear or a strange man. Check out his blog here: https://jamesfell.com/
According to the post, many women would prefer to meet a bear.
Surprise. Surprise. Surprise.
Naturally, this has upset a few men.
Then they out themselves with their ridiculous comments. I wish I could find the link to the post, but here’s the link to his Facebook post about it. https://www.facebook.com/bodyforwife/posts/1008407407519082
I love the fact that some men get it. It shows we’re evolving as a society, however, based on some of the comments, we still have a lot of work to do.
The problem isn’t just in the woods though. The problem is everywhere. It’s in public places, at parties, and bars. Women have to make sure someone doesn’t spike their drinks, and they usually go to the bathroom in pairs. Men make jokes about women needing to go to the bathroom with a friend, but it’s for safety purposes. To protect themselves from an unpleasant encounter.
I have a lot of women friends, and each one has had an encounter where she’s been afraid of a man. That’s why we have pepper spray and carry our keys with the jagged edge sticking out past our knuckles. That’s why we don’t go to bars alone.
But the biggest perpetrators are the guys we know. They’re a little bit closer than acquaintances. They’ve given us the illusion they are safe. When we resist their advances, they either become aggressive and hurt us physically, or they become emotionally abusive. Spreading lies about us and damaging our reputations. I’ve seen it a million times.
Things like this also happen in the workplace, too. Not so much the physical damage, but the emotional damage. Have you ever heard of the “good ole boys club?” They make it harder for women to advance, by promoting their friends and sabotaging women. It’s getting better, but we’ve still got a long way to go.
Look at what happened to Taylor Swift. Men sold her music right out from under her. She fought back though and rerecorded all her old albums. Go Taylor.
However, there’s another side of the story. There are some women out there who have turned the tables on men. They scream abuse when it hasn’t occurred. They do this for money, or to advance, or to keep a man down. That’s not good either.
Some may argue that women are doing this after years of mistreatment. Still others argue, that they’re just exploiting the changing tides. We don’t really know, do we?
So, what’s my point?
Good question. My point is there’s a lot of misogyny in the world today. We’re finally waking up to it and trying to change it, but we need to do better. Even the women who exploit the movement for their own gain have to do better. It doesn’t do us any good to become the abusers, does it?
We are making strides, however. Taylor Swift fought back and won. We can do that, too. I’ve noticed the workplace is better. Corporations are working hard to be fair. The “good ole boys club,” is going by the wayside. Now, it’s up to us women to not become like the men who abused us. We have to turn our anger into helping other women to succeed and not sabotaging men who’re trying to do better. Wouldn’t you agree?
Thanks for reading my post. Have you heard about “The Bear in the Woods” post? What’s your take on it? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!
