I happened by chance to see Eliza Hatch being interviewed on BBC News the other day. Last year she initiated a photojournalism project documenting women who have experienced sexual harassment in public. She can be found here:
https://www.instagram.com/cheerupluv/?hl=en
I applaud her efforts. It's all looking good and it shows what can happen. I hope great things come of it for her and the issue.
So many attitudes are deeply embedded in all of us, with no exceptions, including you and I. They are habits with their own 'energy' and are difficult to notice. One has to be prepared to observe deeply within oneself to see them and not many (perhaps) are so prepared.
I come from the first half of the last century, born just after WW2. Wherever one arises, one absorbs the prevailing cultural norms whether it be a small African Village, New York or even possibly a distant alien planet. The 'world' one lives in clearly is the same for all at one level, but is utterly different in a cultural, psychological sense. This embedding takes on numerous forms. Attitudes and beliefs which can last life long begin their journeys here. There are ingrained beliefs which are so ingrained you would not think they were beliefs, they seem self evident truths. Do you ever consider that the way in which we perceive space and time are related to what we as a species are able to see, not the way 'things really are'? probably not. It's not your 'fault'. Unless the issue is raised it will not be considered. From this rather extreme point of view, sexual harassment of women (and men) is a relatively easy subject to notice. Still very difficult for some to admit to or be introspective about however.
I am male and 71 and admit that my attitudes to a great variety of issues have changed over the years. No doubt there are still issues to resolve in better detail.
I have three daughters and one son. As far as my wife and I have been able to do, we have always encouraged each of our children to become themselves, as they see fit. We always told them they could be anything in this world they wished to be, regardless of prevailing attitudes and force fields. No doubt we've made mistakes, but we've tried.
Sometimes, being a man, or perhaps me, I succumb to feelings and instincts relating to women, this does not change. No doubt this is similar for women. These thoughts are restrainable however. I can stop this instinctual behaviour if I call to mind this Buddhist aspiration thought:
"Let all beings be as my mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters or children and let me so care for them."
Then when I see 'women', I see them as the above not 'objects'.
I have been a maker of digital images. I made this one once in response to a flurry of news about Russian women looking for partners on the internet. It seemed that they were not doing themselves justice. So I wrote little notes to transform their sense of being. Here's the main image followed by some examples. I hope they still work. The image depicts measuring instruments that are obviously completely inappropriate. Please read the added notelets carefully.
Anyway, well done Eliza, wonderful work.
PJ
