The War Between the Sexes
Woody’s in the news again for being accused of more pedaphilic behavior. And who knows if it’s true beyond a shadow of a doubt? Only Woody Allen and Dylan Farrow know what really happened. And even that could be a matter of perspective. Now, if I were a juror, the fact that he married another one of his stepdaughters would make me lean far enough to touch guilty. (So, I probably would be dismissed before the trial event started.)
However, the conversation around this latest sexual assault scandal got me thinking about how easily a report of a sexual crime tends to set off a war between the sexes, i.e. “He said, she said” and “she asked for it” and “if he’s convicted it will ruin his life!” These alibis of course, tend to work if you’re a white defendant. And, yes, men and people of all sexual orientation are assaulted, too. The pain of assault is universal.
But let’s be fair. Women are sexually assaulted at a staggeringly higher rate than men. And those who fight for justice after being sexually assaulted leave empty handed. They usually wave the white flag well before the war is over. Few of them suit up for battle at all. Why fight when you’re outnumbered and must climb uphill to battle your foe?
Look some of the things women are up against. King David’s daughter Tamar was raped by her stepbrother, and then banished. Harvey Weinstein got away with disgusting behavior for decades before justice intervened. And the “boys will be boys” defense has worked for many a frat boy accused of sexual assault and gang rape. A man who said he could grab a woman by her pussy got elected the President of the United States and has yet to be convicted despite the backlog of sexual assault cases filed against him.
Would you fight?
The next question is, how can we work to make it a fair fight?
Love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
Content Writer & Author 