Thank you really, I just needed to get this off my chest. These things really torture me. I take it home. It is so painful to know that no matter how hard I work where i am at changing this, it is happening now as I type.
I know what you mean, Maddy. The other night I went into a big funk about all of this because I genuinely feel crazy sometimes when I'm the ONLY one who can see something wrong. It seems so obvious, that it starts to feel like someone kicking you in the eye and tellign you they're improving your eyesight.
It's not just the degradation, it's the mindless consumption of women, of people, this narcissistic, cheapened, throw-away, style-over-substance mantra we seem to be chanting as a society that depresses me.
I remember one girl asking me, in front of a bunch of guys "what my problem was" and asking why I even cared so much. She was suggesting my hyper sensitivity MUST be due to some past abuse (ie. you're mentally damaged, that's why you can't enjoy this). I don't think it's any of her business for one thing, and for another, is it ABNORMAL to have an adverse reaction to the kind of behaviors that normalize the "boys will be boys attitude" that legitmizes abuse? Is it abnormal to see the connections?
To me, if I was in a vicious fight, and then get offended when people talk about knives being the solution to all problems, is it just that I'm "overly sensitive because of my experience" or does my experience give me valid REASON to take issue with it?
So needless to say, I understand what you mean. There are some days I feel entirely alone, simply because it's impossible to avoid and everyone just seems to think it's the best thing to happen since curly-fries. I have Josh who's on my side and does a great deal in terms of speaking, but he still has the priveledge of knowing he gets to go out in the world much less affected by it all.
You're not alone - you've got to keep it up. And you've got to keep writing.
And bluecoat, maybe you WILL be the next Gail Dines. You should move here so you can hang out with Josh, Dragonfly, RGM and I and we'll form our posse of young'ns.
*I am not responsible for any bad similies or metaphors used in this post. I am hungry and writing when I should be going to eat lunch.