Sara Everard is the 97%
Markel, Morgan and Misogyny…One woman carries a horrifying global percentage to her grave.
Did you know that 60% of women in the UK are considered overweight? Yup. According to NHS national statistics, 60% of women in the UK are clinically obese. Regardless of the validity of these statistics, usually an amalgam of bullshit-BMI and inconsistent weight-tracking, that’s a statistic that we hear about a lot. The majority of advertising for weight-loss programs, apps, diet products and exercise regiemes is targeted towards women. The Woman and Equalities Committee in the House of Commons completed a survey in 2020 that identified this as a serious issue; women felt targeted.
Women felt targeted. And to combat this “feeling” there are body-positivity profiles on Instagram, books lording the importance of autonomy over the female body; embrace who you are for your body is perfect just for you. One of the top trending hashtags on Instagram is, in fact, #instavsreality. A whole hashtag dedicated to a feeling that can be attributed to only 60% of the UK female population
Read that sentence again.
Women. Felt. Targeted.
Now let us talk an entirely different statistic. The 97%. NINTY SEVEN PERCENT (just incase the numbers weren’t stark enough on their own, I wanted to type them out) of women report being the target of sexual assault of some form at the hands of a man. From catcalling, to groping, to verbal chastising, to rape and ridicule; women all over Britain have come out in their droves in response to a curtailed argument regarding the safety of women; curtailed because it’s “not ALL men”. That’s 37% more than the contentious discussion regarding the weight of a womans butt! And yet we are more used to a Noom advert than one for Womens Refuge. Syns are more important than sinning.
But one has to question how much gravitas, how much weight a woman holds in the public eye when it IS MOST men who permit the behaviour. Regardless of the United Nations indicating that it is women who take the lions share of responsibility in the home, hearth and work, men show a cavalier and somewhat dismissive attitude towards supporting women, putting their own bravado and need for acceptance by their fellow male first.
Of course there is outrage, of course the keyboard warrior male feminists are out in their droves clamouring for justice. But it still remains more likely that when you remove the screen, it is a woman that will stand for her fellow woman even though her voice equates to only a fraction of a single man’s.
The privilege of a penis (glib) or male-identifying is something that needs to be acknowledged. And rather than lorded, weaponised in the fight against crimes towards women. All too often I have heard the words “not my circus, not my monkeys,” from the mouths of men who claim to be feminists. I’m willing to bet that sentence is going to be altered when the monkey-poop is flying. It is those men who are going to be questioning why they didn’t close the monkey enclosure purely because those particular primates, pound for pound, held no substance for them. But the weight sure is heavy now, huh?
Putting pride aside (because lord knows, a woman has too), every person’s influence is important. You don’t need to be the prow of a ship to break the wave but for the good of the ship, put your back into it! Heave a woman’s voice further than shout it down with #notallmen.
Perfect substitutes:
#shesmydaughter
#shesmysister
#shesmymother
#shesmyaunt
#ourfellowwomen
Join the conversation over on my instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/the.borderline.kitty/
References:
https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/reality-v-reality-instagram-trend
https://www.un.org/en/desa/world%E2%80%99s-women-2020
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Gender_statistics
