Why Are Women Considered To Be The Property Of Men?
Headline: ‘School girl raped by a group of men.’ ‘But what was she wearing?’read the comments. Phone down, boxing gloves on Here we fucking go again…
Why Are Women Considered To Be The Property Of Men?
Lisa Fouweather has written a concise post here, one that expresses anger at the culture of victim-blaming, which sadly remains a part of our society, even well into the 21st Century. You would think that we might have grown beyond the suggestion that victims of sexual assault somehow invited it, yet this remains the reality for women the world over.
Lisa also asks the question, ‘why are women considered the property of men?’ I dare say the roots of this mentality can be found within organised religion, and a general, persuasive cultural position that has existed for millennia. Biblical texts, such as Ephesians 5:21–24—“Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.” – give rise to the idea that men should have authority over women. Whether this verse is interpreted correctly or not is another question, but it is easy to see how it can be used or abused to present men as having ownership or power over women. This notion is reinforced by traditions, such as the father giving away their daughter in matrimony (indeed, traditionally the groom is supposed to seek the father’s permission to ask for their daughter’s hand, as though the daughter is an item to be bartered).
With women being treated as property, it’s no wonder that some men see women as objects to do with as they desire. What’s frightening about Lisa’s post is that this belief extends to sexualising young girls. Is it any wonder that mothers teach their daughters how to mute their emotions, or be cautious around any and all men? I would like to believe this culture is ebbing away, but it seems to happening at a stubbornly glacial pace. It is vital to overcome this notion that women are playthings of men, and vital to push back against the culture of blaming the victim.
