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Attiliah wrote a post on The Pan Collective that really struck a chord with me. Here's an excerpt:
...[T]hen proceed to make sundry comments, depending on what I'm wearing, or if they have a penchant for dreads, but usually the comments take the predictable lines of, I could play in those locks all day, family, or your bamsee looking real nice in them pants, etc etc.
Like most women in Aruba, I have also been subjected to those 'compliments'. I've also been told that I should be happy that I get these comments as I walk down on a road, otherwide, I "would be really ugly".
!!
The thing is, these kind of comments do not make me believe I am beautiful or pretty. These are designed to make me believe that I am a thing, to be stared at, judged and dismissed. These comments are also a very good indication of how screwed up gender relations can be in the Caribbean.
It is not every single man, of course. It does occur often enough to be remarked upon
The thing is, just like Atillah wrote, that no one believes that this kind of behaviour means anything. After all, there is no bloodshed or broken bones. Nothing physical, no sirree. Nothing physical, but the damage is much more invisible. It's about how I am viewed by a fellow human being. I do think that if this issue can be addressed at a very early age, gender relations, indeed human relations, will experience a vast improvement.
But those organizations that concern themselves with women in vulnerable postions are fighting the battle of the broken bones and the bloodshed. I'm not saying that that is less important, of course it isn't. However, it may be worth a shot to try and educate everyone at a very early age how much each and everyone is worth. Young girls and boys alike.
Crossposted on Lost in Smallness.
