The “Season of Women” special focus continues…

Thank you, Seth Kahan and Brian Lavendel, for commenting on my first post in this series calling attention to violence against women–and how we can end it.

I followed Brian back to his blog, Enjoy and Inspire!, and came across his thought-provoking post on “Wife Insurance.” In that post he muses about advertising’s objectification of women, and his efforts to frame the issue for his 9-year-old daughter.

“…I believe these images send a demeaning and belittling message about girls and women. And I resent that,” he writes.

Reading his words, I tumble to this insight: Violence against women and girls doesn’t start with a blow, or a harsh word, the emotional equivalent. It starts with seeing “them” as different from, and less than, “us”.

See? Even as a woman, it’s hard to write about women without using “them” — that’s how deeply our culture carries this pattern.

It’s weird to be objectified. How would you feel if you were one of these models? (Thanks, Brian, for the picture.)

Body-painted models, also known as “Booth Babes,” at the January 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

I’m not an object. Neither are the rest of my sisters. Let’s stop objectifying us. Let’s speak out when we see it.

Brian found a useful way to guide his young daughter–New Moon Girl, a safe online community for girls.

During this “Season of Women” don’t forget to support groups working to change this culture of violence towards half of us humans. If you’re in Madison, I urge you to support A Fund for Women, which makes grants to projects for women and girls.  If you’re elsewhere around the globe, consider giving to a cause like Half the Sky, which works to end the oppression of women and girls worldwide.