She's asking for it
One of the top stories on yahoo news today is this Dear Abby about people touching a pregnant woman's belly. And I'm not sure I've ever been more offended in my life. This goes way beyond the 40 year old virgin fiacso. Since when is it cool to go around touching strangers in public spaces?!
First there's the scientific explanation "touching a woman's belly is a deeply rooted instinctual behavior. It is as natural as pulling your hand away from a fire."
Then there's the tight jeans/you're just asking for it explanation "The clothing that I have seen pregnant women wear advertises their protruding bellies and, in my opinion, encourages people to notice and admire their bellies, implying there's an open invitation to touch them"
And then some guy just encourages her to be a whore "She should relax and enjoy a little gratuitous physical contact; some people have to pay big money for it -- like with massage or chiropractic"
I've been thinking about this, and I'm wondering if it really has to do with the fact that a pregnant woman has obviously had sex. Never, would society encourage you to touch virgins. But obviously, since you're pregnant, you're a whore, and it's a free for all. Touchy, touchy, touchy!
If anyone tried to touch me currently, I'm perfectly prepared to kick them. But maybe pregnant women shouldn't be balancing on one foot while fighting off evil. I'm considering crafting a letter to Dear Abby, advocating women to carry a nice, hefty cane. Once they're smacked, maybe strange touchers will think twice about the next time.
3 Comments:
At June 29, 2007 12:01 PM,
Tommaso Sciortino said…
It would be funny if pregnant women retaliated by patting the unwanted toucher on the belly.
At June 29, 2007 4:09 PM,
Zack said…
Basically: people lying to themselves in public so that they don't have to question the social rules by which they operate.
There is no justification put forth in that column which would not equally apply to touching the breasts of breastfeeding mothers. Forgive me for assuming things about strangers, but I seriously doubt any of them would write letters to some podunk schoolmarm advice columnist hack advocating for the latter.
I am disheartened by the "opt out" view of personal sovereignty on display here (but more than that I'm happy to be a guy).
I will say I don't think the virgin/whore dichotomy is at fault. Women as chattel, maybe. One of the letter writers even says that children are a gift to the community, which suggests a sense of entitlement. This letter is also my favorite here, but for its absurd display of self-importance. The whole community, nay, all of humanity depends on her ability to carry her fetus to term? No offense, ma'am, but you are not Bruce Willis and that fetus ain't exploding no asteroids and if you miscarried that would be an immense personal tragedy but the rest of humanity would get on just fine.
At July 05, 2007 6:48 AM,
lyan! said…
You can expand this to mothers and children: the younger the child, the more recent the iron-clad truth of past sex.
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