This Is Not Normal
Growing up as a boy in a patriarchal and conservative society, there were things that seemed 'normal'.
I can't quite recall the first time I saw and heard women and girls being abused but it was certainly from when I was a toddler just bordering preschool. As a child, processing such events is almost impossible because it's the first time seeing up-close violence, especially to those close and around you, seeing the pain and distraught of those being abused and not knowing what to do but just cry.
A child's mind moves on pretty quickly but the imprint of the event or experience never goes away.
Fast forward to primary school and I remember the lines getting clearer with how boys and girls were seen and treated in society and the introducing of the 'boys will be boys' culture that is a key factor of gender-based violence and femicide.
Looking back, sexism and misogyny begins quite early on, probably more so than most men would willingly admit because that would mean they would also have to address the fact they themselves were indeed sexist and misogynistic from an early age - an addressing that I wish I had sooner than I did because it's not just a way of thinking but also of words and actions which identify, target, and direct hate and violence at women and girls.
None of this exists in a void.
It needs active participation, encouragement, disseminating, protecting and rewarding to continue being what it is and that's exactly why the 'boys will be boys' culture is prevalent, because men continue feeding it knowing exactly what it leads to - the abuse and killing of women and girls at the hands of men and boys.
This is not normal.
~ 🐨
come along with me and the butterflies and bees - Ashley Eriksson