I always wonder why they don't feel in danger! Don't they consider the possibility of being assaulted because they are showing their boobs? What a mystery!
I know for sure that if I, a woman, go half naked like that, running, not only will I be uncomfortable because my boobs would bounce all over the place, but I would also be afraid of someone jumping on me, raping me or arresting me!
So my simple question is: what makes for this difference in perceptions, consciousness, realities?
I saw a picture on Facebook from a "Ni una menos" demonstration in Argentina where a half naked man holds a sign saying,
https://desinformemonos.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Manifestaci%C3%B3n-1-1.jpg
"I am half naked, surrounded by the opposite sex and I feel protected, not intimidated. I want the same for them (women)",
http://espoirchiapas.blogspot.com/2016/11/lamerique-latine-se-souleve-contre-les.html
and I immediately remember my walks in the park.
Again, who assumed that women would be indifferent to the sight of a half naked man? Why do women assume that all men would lust after a half naked woman after all? I have seen topless women at Saint Tropez and nothing happened to them. Absolutely nothing!
I have concluded that those assumptions are just cultural constructions, a conditioning that we were injected in the brain since immemorial times, by society, religion, morality, values, and hypocritical twisted constructions that have determined our behaviors, and have created who we think we are.
I understand that most women may not even want to expose their breast and for a variety of reasons, including sexism, but that is not what I argue about. And to cast some more light on my take on this, I will also quote another Facebook post showing Mr. New President surrounded by 7 men while he is signing a document denying the woman's (human) right to decide about her body without restrictions. Here men feel entitled to tell women what they should and shouldn't do. And I say here in USA, like I could say it about Iran or most places around the world. How come women never got the idea of going around making decisions about men's reproductive function? It's just because it seldom occurs to women, right? Maybe more of that than of the fact that women were never given the space and freedom to even think about it. In fact, women really need to start thinking about it. Aren't women tired of having to protect ourselves. Why wouldn't women "delegate" this protection on men? Aren't men reliable? If they aren't, why? All these are mental cultural constructions people acquire from the crib on to adulthood.
New winds are blowing, that make people realize the actual meaning of the well known quote from Proverbs 23:7, "as the man (and woman) thinks in his (her) heart, so is he (she)". So, if one expects to change, one has to change first the way one thinks. Living "in the present" as many today's philosophers teach, does not necessarily refers to the time frame, but to a space where previous conceptions, mental formations, conditionings, past stories of ageless assumptions and values don't have any more meaning than just what they are: thoughts, some form of electrical energy that comes and goes in the mind. The present moment is a liberation of all past constructions, therefore is absolute freedom, infinite possibilities, countless ways to go, unlimited number of path to take. The present moment is a boat that has pulled anchor and can now set sail and navigate freely.
As we have seen lately around the world, there are millions of people wanting change. We know exactly what we would like to change. Can we make it happen? Can we force it? No. That is why we need to go inside heart and mind, study our ways of thinking, observe, and operate that change from within. Technology has shown us the way, hasn't it? Devices need new software, new apps, updates, etc. Sometimes, they need reboot! Our minds need cleansing, wiping out all that is not longer useful; the mind needs purification.
Purification (n): to make pure; free from anything that pollutes or contaminates. To be free from extra or objectionable elements.
Then we will be able to rewire and reprogram, and will be ready to change our behavior and BE the change!
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