That "Rape Culture" Redefined

A Painting outside of the Country Bumpkin store, Waycross, Georgia

Other women have shared their stories with me since sharing my own personal survivor story.  Those stories inspired this article.

Rape Redefined: The Eye Doctor Experience

We give permission for medical professionals to exam us.  We trust them to talk us through their actions.  When that does not happen, the rape feeling is triggered.

For example:  During my own eye exam, the eye doctor opened up my eyes and took both of my contact lenses out in thirty seconds or less in the middle of the exam.  I was mortified.  I usually take out my own contact lenses.  My eyes are very personal to me.  I would have preferred for him to tell me that it was time to remove my contact lenses, and then let me remove them myself.  However, maybe he wanted to save a few minutes and catch me off guard and remove them himself.  You play those tricks with kids and getting them to eat their veggies or to take their medicine.  You don't play those tricks with adults.  This situation may sound trivial to some people, but I was traumatized by this eye doctor removing my contact lenses without telling me that he was going to invade my person and strip me of something personal.

After a heated followup over his actions, I decided to switch to another doctor in his practice.  I am quite certain the notes say "DO NOT REMOVE HER CONTACT LENSES FROM HER EYES WITHOUT PERMISSION." Period.

  

Rape Redefined: Co-worker experiences

Other women have shared with me how co-workers have reached into their cleavage unexpectedly or even being victimized by the Trump's "Grab them by the pu$$y" move.  This is a rape culture.  This is not a touch on the arm.  This is an invasion of a woman's intimacy without permission.  Some women may have unfortunately come from an abusive environment, and they may have gotten used to this type of abuse like the "slave days."  However, for those women who come from a more conservative and sanctified background, these aggressive acts of flirting can be very traumatic with or without "skin to skin" contact.

So where do we go from here?  Education and Respect one another at all times. Set and Respect Boundaries.  People (men/women/other) all have rights to their own personal, private space.