Blameless Bodies By Simone Hoekstra

The hot beams of summer struck my face as I happily strolled to the train that sunny Thursday morning, wearing my new baby blue skirt with little yellow flowers to cool down from the oppressive heat. However, my glowing smile quickly faded as I caught an old man staring at my thighs. My stomach suddenly rumbled with a discomfort so sickening I wanted to throw up. My sweaty hands pulled down my skirt hastily, trying to cover up as much skin as possible. I shifted my eyes, hoping to ignore him, even as his low voice grumbled, calling my young body sexy. I was 13. When I was 14, a speeding car rolled down its window so a man inside could call me a skank. When I was 15, tears rolled down my face after a sweaty, glittery hand reached up my skirt at a music festival. 

My friends regularly complain about the racist and sexist names they are called in a “flirty” way as they walk home from school. The cars that slow for a few seconds to yell some sexual words at them leave them with a sickening feeling that lasts for the rest of the day. Yet, they discuss these instances in a manner so casual it's alarming. Because this harassment of women and young girls is normalized. We are afraid of these men, but even more we are afraid of saying anything, worried about making too big deal or being blamed for the clothes we wear, the way we act. 

I consider myself lucky as a woman to be living in 2020 America. I can vote. I can drive. I can wear what I want and protest sexism and our government. If I needed one, I would have acess to a safe abortion. I am so fortunate to have these privileges, denied to women throughout time and across the globe. However, with this freedom comes vulnerability. We are empowered, but culpable. When we, as women, can wear and act how we want, we can subsequently be judged for what we wear and how we act. We can feel guilty for what men do- and feel uneasy speaking up about these events. 

Sexual assault, from rape to catcalling and harassment, is an American epidemic. According to NPR, 81 percent of women have experienced sexual harassment, yet those are only the ones who have had the courage to speak up. While we can study the statistics of assault, no one even mentions the verbal harassment that every single one of my female peers has experienced- as minors. How do we think this affects young women? We exist in a post-feminist era in which we are told we can be anything, yet we are constantly bombarded with messages that it is our bodies that define us, rather than our minds and accomplishments. We become afraid to show our bodies and lose our confidence. We become “too paranoid”- as older generations may say- because we know how likely it is that we will get harassed when walking outside the house. 

I am well aware that sexual harassment does not only affect women; men who experinced harassment share these horrifying struggles. Yet, the difference in the

Blameless Bodies 

Simone Hoekstra 

statistics is undeniable; 91% of victims of rape and sexual assault are female, while only 9% are male. This is an issue of gender. While the progress of the #METOO movement is undeniable, its impacts have still not filtered down from the high profile corporate scandals and Hollywood parties to the nightclubs and the subway cars of America. As long as these micro assaults go unchecked and normalized in our society, women and girls will be psychologically stunted. 

What I believe will be most effective is to educate. First of all, through aggressive campaigning in schools, make girls aware that this is a common issue that has not yet been overcome and important enough for girls to speak up and report incidents. But I also think it's important to educate boys that sexualizing women is not okay and that words (not just actions) are damaging. Schools should examine policies that promote the idea that women are somewhat responsible for the harassment they receive. For example, expunge the notion that girls can’t wear tank tops because it will distract the boys. Girls’ clothes should not be blamed for “distraction”, barbaric minds should. It is time that the female body is a vehicle for strength and accomplishment, rather than sexualized facade for our trauma.