I left something out when writing about my week in the last post. Actually I left many things out but there's no reason you guys should have to read about every microscopic little detail... Anyway, one event has been stuck in the back of my mind since it took place and I just need to vent somewhere.

 

When we were at Akademien on Saturday some dude on the dancefloor... well, grabbed my ass. I was dancing with my friends, minding my own business when I felt it. It happened very quickly and by the time I turned around to see who it was, the person was gone. All I could see was a bunch of sweaty backs as a big group of people made their way away from us. 

 

See, I've noticed that there is a very sneaky strategy involved here. They make sure to touch you when they're only just passing and they know there's no way you can confront them. Because they know they don't have permission, they know that what they are doing is not okay.

 

While reading this you might be thinking "okay, so what? That stuff happens all the time". Maybe you think it's not that big of a deal. Maybe you're thinking that I should take it as some sort of compliment and by bringing this up I'm just bragging. Well, NO. It makes me upset that these things happen so often that we think of it as normal. It makes me upset when people try and minimize my experience by hinting that the person who harassed me was just having some innocent fun. Yes, I said harassed! Because that person indirectly told me that it doesn't matter what I want. I do not have power over my own body, it is free for them to touch. Yet again I am reminded that my body is never completely mine. What I want is secondary while their "needs" matter most.

 

I honestly can't describe how powerless and vulnerable it made me feel (before I got angry that is). It is just so frustrating that I will never know who did it. I will never know who took the right to my body without my consent and they will never be held accountable for making me feel this way. They knew that. They knew that they would get away with it. It is so incredibly disrespectful on all levels, I don't even know where to begin! See, I don't think it even has to do with attraction or lust or whatever. It makes me sick, but I think it's just a way of demonstrating power. The person who harrassed me probably got some kind of rush out of knowing that they were in control of the situation while I was not. 

 

Seriously, how hard can it be? I think we've established why making moves like that without consent is pretty shitty behaviour. It's idiotic, it's sexist, it is disrespectful and it's something we should all avoid if we don't want to look like complete assholes. I put together this little flow chart, just in case  you still haven't grasped the concept :)))) Feel free to save it, send it to someone, set it as a lock screen or whatever.