Sympathizers of the Cornell 7 don’t realize that, beneath their slut-shaming and victim-blaming, their contrarianism isn’t all that contradictory.
Because when one blames Jane Doe for what happened to her, what they’re saying is that — so long as the patriarchal paradigm is in place, women don’t have room for error on this planet.
That, in order to be safe from men, a woman must move through this world as though, any man — even the ones she trusts, even enough to be intimate with — could at any given moment, do something.
Something like alert their brotherhood to encroach on her body and attack her in tandem.
And then celebrate it.
At the core of their argument, the one who blames Jane Doe for what was done to her, is another explanation for how trusting a man in the way that she might have, means such violence was a predictable — even obvious — outcome. That she should have known that all of these men would have entered the room while she lay there in the nude — that she oughta have known they’d look at her, touch her and enter her; that it was her fault that she lay there and then be upset with them for what they did next.
“Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them.”
Last week, girls across the nation bid adieu to their innocence — the ones who still held it close.
Not due to the vulgarity of such acts, but because they’ll imagine Prince Charming raising his hand to Cinderella; ask if Rapunzel traded one captor for another; suspect Ursela hadn’t acted alone when silencing Ariel moments before returning her to her Prince; wonder whether Snow White actually thought herself “saved” when feeling the lips of another touch hers in slumber, before awakening to a man hovering… inches above her.
Why would a woman protect herself from men after spending a lifetime daydreaming of the day she’s saved by one? One who, in exchange for her nurture, will protect her for life.
That one day, if she’s kind enough, and sweet enough, and pretty enough and smile enough, she’ll be loved by a man. And in turn, by the world.
Until one day, when she asks her university to help her discover exactly which ones touched her the night she “squealed and ran” under the covers, “horrified.” And they blame her for being alone with a man.
“The shape of power is always the same; it is the shape of a tree… root to tip. And the shape of the power is: who can hurt whom and stay safe?”
Naomi Alderman
Where Quantitative Thinkers Compete, Learn and Grow
The International Quant Championship (IQC) is one of the world's largest quantitative research competitions, bringing together 156,000+ participants globally.
Participants have the opportunity to develop quantitative research skills, challenge themselves alongside peers from around the world and connect with a global community of quantitative thinkers.
Help me keep sharing real stories
▶ Buy me a coffee so I can do more of this.
▶ Was this email forwarded to you?
