Are people really just now learning that women bear the burden of trauma of institutionalized misogyny? I’m glad that we are having a dialogue, but this whole #metoo thing again just makes it our burden as women to share deeply personal and painful stories, which feels vulnerable and brings that trauma back to the forefront of our minds. Why should I open myself up again? I have built up a protective exterior that has allowed me to continue to exist every day in this sometimes awful world. Many women who have experienced sexual violence don’t want to go about their daily lives seeing themselves as victims, even though it truly is inescapable. We want power, we want agency over who we choose to share our stories with and we want true safety.
This is about economics and power. Since the dawn of time women have turned to sex work as a means of attaining economic justice because traditionally we were not able to access the same types of jobs as men. Our bodies have been exploited as currency because we were viewed as intellectually inferior. We have never been seen or treated as equals in the workplace or even within our families. We know that women are grossly underpaid compared to men, and that men occupy senior management positions while women are employed in assistant positions etc.