Men's Violence- through Language

Today we live in a world where it's acceptable for "Men" to demean, degrade, and humiliate Women publicly on a daily basis. It's so common that it happens the majority of the time unconsciously with out the thought of reprecussions of words! Language is a huge part of society and the message it delivers can be the basic tool used in society that produces such misogynist men & boys! They are a product of media, music, & games that give the perception that it's ok to be violent- physically, verbally, and sexually towards women. We as Men are capable of reversing this hypermasculine & sexually driven culture of Men & Boys with a little bit more in depth analysis of the language we use. Words are very powerful, and they can be used both in negative and postive ways in society. Those are in the public eye/ear on a daily basis- Broadcasters, Dj's, T.V. Show host and News Anchors are the one we should critique most (other then ourselves) because they're the ones delivering the message to a wider range audience. We need to realize in this - i'm not saying because of something heard or said - its going to get an immediate reaction or simulation to the statement, comment, or action made. Every time we hear a negative degrading statement about or to a women it becomes more "normal" to us. The problem with it becoming normal to Men is we become desensitized to it! Therefore it has no meaning to us (men) and we (men) don't realize that the belittling everyday( B****, SL**, Etc) words still have the same hurtfull effects on Women in our society! Also, we must realize that if you consciously or even unconsciously make a degrading statement to or about a women, it gives the message to other Men that it's acceptable, and a norm! The boys that grow up in our society are taught that this kind of behavior is what it means to "be a man!" We typically want to point fingers and not accept responsibility for things that take place and have no correlation with our own lives. Reality is though, if we allow other Men to act with this kind of misogynistic behavior in our presence- then we're definitly complicit in the negative effects of that behavior. If you stand by in silence while there's a form of abuse happening (verbal or physical) then you're definitely responsible for holding that perpetrator accountable for his actions. A lot would think i'm being one-sided or denying women as perpetrators, which I'm not. The fact is- Majority of Violence is perpetrated by Men, whether it be against Women or other Men. So this is unanimously a Men's issue! Am I calling out my own gender? Yes! Especially if you're complicit by silence or perpetration in the acts of Violence Against Women. It's easy to set back and say "this doesn't affect me" or "i'm not that kind of guy, so it doesn't concern me" .. Well let me make it clear, it concerns ALL men in our society! We all have Women close to us, and we all have a repsonsibility to keep them safe. The sad reality is that one of them has been a victim of some form of abuse by a man- whether you know it or not! If you want to truly prove your "manhood" then do what's right, and Step Up and take a stand on Men's Violence Against Women!! http://www.stepupagainstviolence.com/

Jeremy