April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Our culture is obsessed with external beauty and who is attractive.  What does external beauty mean?  What does it mean to be attractive?  It means that women are continuously objectified by the male gaze.  Patriarchy is perpetuated by misogynistic assholes and women who are jealous and envious.

Beauty is everywhere and in everyone.  Every Goddess personifies beauty, from the inside out!  The current system of oppression blames women for how they look and dress, blaming victims of sexual assault.  Men want to control our bodies from dress codes to abortion, and everything in between.

What were you wearing?

Listen.  Understand.  It is never about the clothing when sexual violence occurs.  Listen to sexual violence survivors as they tell their stories and describe the outfits worn during assaults.  These are representative of people in your community.  These stories shatter the myth that sexual violence can be attributed to a person’s choice in clothing.  Stop blaming the victim!

A shared sense of responsibility and community.

College campuses have under-reported cases of assault.  Engage in conversations with students, provide them a safe and inclusive environment for them to tell their stories.  Increase your own awareness and understanding of sexual assault and relationship violence.  Learn about programs and resources available, both on local campuses and in the larger community.  Become empowered to live a daily life through prevention of power-based violence.  Know how to intervene.

Pop culture is part of the problem.

Princess Leia didn’t watch her home planet of Alderan get destroyed for the good of the rebellion, only to later be objectified in a shitty bikini!

The bikini was a means to an end – sexualize Carrie Fisher for the male fan base.  The metal bikini was the moment she went from a girl to a woman.  And by woman, a sex slave. And pop culture keeps perpetuating sexism.  Remember Friends, “The One With the Princess Leia Fantasy”?

Denim Day 2023

On April 26, 2023, wear denim in solidarity with sexual violence survivors.  Per DenimDay.org, the international campaign began in 1999.  An Italian Supreme Court issued a ruling that overturned a rape conviction.  The Italian justices stated that because the victim was wearing tight jeans, she must have helped to remove them, therefore implying consent.  The day after the ruling, women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the survivor.

“There are lots of pretty women and girls however a beautiful women shines from the inside out and makes those around her feel beautiful. Beauty is an attitude.”

 – Sierra Bender

(Bender, Sierra. Goddess to the Core. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2009.)

“The 4 Body Fit™ Empowerment Method became my path and has remained my path.”~ Diane Whitney