The Comment Factory

We’re stronger than ever. No we really are, no matter what the doomsayers would have you think. Feminism in the positive sense of the word is on the up. We’re respected as talented and skilled workers, caring mothers and daughters and loyal friends. But we need to do more to encourage human compassion. Of course in every culture and country there are those women left behind, but it’s not for want of trying, given the number of charitable initiatives and general awareness of the problems they face. In the age of L’Oreal and haute couture, of Beyonce and Shakira, we have the power to fight not just for ourselves but for others. What is strange is that we often choose not to make use of it; to look after ourselves not just first but only and to let men lead the way — and not always in the right direction. Is subjugation thus inherent? The matriarchy appears to be locked inside the words and images of traditional fairy tales; the powerful Saxon Queens replaced by the iconic Carla Bruni.

Women have long been portrayed in all forms of literature as subversive, a danger to the social order. Mostly this is done somewhat unwittingly, without the author being fully conscious of it. Interestingly, it is the women who are depicted as the most powerful and “feministic” who do the most damage: Greek figures such Medea and the Amazon warriors, Shakespearean anti-heroines like Lady Macbeth, trophy girls in the works of John Fowles, are all examples of how strong women are ultimately to be reviled for their power and ambitions, morphing into grotesque caricatures. Yet women who do as they are told are more likely to be remembered as the strong ones (think of all the maternal or do-gooding, long-suffering types in any drama or literature you’ve read). Domestic violence, still a relative taboo in our enlightened times, is proof of the continued desire to neutralize the power of women: you can be powerful but only if you don’t leave me.

There have been many positive developments but they will stop short of producing real results unless women push for more: for instance equal pay campaigns are underway but have not yet bridged the gap: Support Equal Pay (legal rep campaign), Fair Play on Women’s Pay (Conservative Party campaign), Government Equality legislation. Equal pay isn’t everything, though if global statistics are analyzed the disparity in earning power is still very shocking: money is something that can be objectively measured but we make the error of presuming that other things are too. Equality is such a vague concept when applied to men and women. Given that no human being can objectively equal another in any way except for a subjective judgment by others, we are taking the debate the wrong way by insisting on a notion of equality that can be enforced only sporadically, case by case, in the real world.

I am afraid that in an age where female emancipation is prized and where women have much more access to power and money, we are becoming desensitized to reports of violence against them. Not just against poorer, less educated women who have had fewer chances in life but against women and children in general. The recent vicious slaying of TV news anchorwoman Anne Presley shocked America, but not so much that the story kept going for more than a few days. Darfur is talked about but we naturally prefer to block out the painful events to stop ourselves getting too down.

That is the trouble: these stories should run a lot longer, to make sure the point is rammed home that we have to keep putting pressure on rulers every day to take violence against women seriously. And women who are hurt need to be remembered for their achievements, not turned into taboos. We shouldn’t dwell on horrific events but ensure that campaigns against them, whether practical, moral or both, receive continued support. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that men are any less important and if a man wanted to start a campaign highlighting violence against men he would have my full support. It’s just that I can’t be the only girl who gets extremely angry about the level of abuse against females in society. Just because we can’t stop all of it doesn’t mean we should just give up. If you stop just one incident you’ve saved a life.

Women are trying to make a stand but they need to be supported more at all levels. The more anti-knife marches, Mothers Against Murder and Aggression, anti-rape groups we have the better. A little extra funding here or there can make all the difference. Some politicians are so sheltered from the realities of the street that they simply do not understand what it is like to have to walk home alone in a dodgy district. The role of the press is also important. Those newspapers that take strong but calm opposition against violence are to be applauded, for ensuring readers do not become desensitized and view each case as a separate tragedy.

The facts, laid out in an unimpassioned way, render the story far more striking than the hysterical reaction by some other press outlets, that leads to the story seeming unreal and thus to be shoved away with all the other bad news. An empirical rather than sensational stance is vital in giving victims the respect they deserve. More factual reporting of this sort has a positive ripple effect throughout society because people are still shocked, sentences are more fitting: there are more deterrents and better policing because people respect themselves enough not to stand for becoming victims, whether pre or post-crime.

Yet in all countries, traumas, like the Juarez Femicide in Mexico, are still ongoing and to ensure they are not forgotten we can never stop the fight. This is not to say that men cannot partake in such campaigns, simply that women should engage as much as they can and use their femininity to do good. How women see themselves is paramount. In some cultures it is now evident that women genuinely view themselves through the eyes of society as a whole, not just the male parts of it, but we need to get further beyond the cosmetic — and the cosmetics.