The Rage; or Why I’m a Feminist

Callaway Golf and Good Good debuted their new club with an ad that shows a male golfer shoving a female golfer hard to the ground from behind, and then standing over her as she lays there, telling her not to touch his new driver. This ad, showing a man assaulting a woman, was approved by the hierarchy in two different companies – marketing, branding, legal. People sat around a room and came up with this concept, a concept that shows a man reacting violently to a woman reaching for a golf club, and the powers-that-be gave it the green light.

How did we get here?

We got here because when a 49-year-old President had an affair with a 22 year old intern, the intern was the villain. Because we elected a man who bragged about grabbing women by the pussy president. And after that same man was found liable for sexual assault and mentioned directly in the Epstein files over 1800 times, we elected him again.

We got here because NOT ONE PERSON in the US that are in the Epstein files have been charged with a crime.

We got here because 130 NFL players have been accused of domestic violence and 117 players have been accused of sexual assault over the past 20 years- and the vast majority kept playing in the NFL. We let our children wear their jersey because their athleticism was more prized than the humanity of their victims.

We got here because after beating the shit out of Rihanna, Chris Brown continues to have a musical career. Because Brad Pitt, after physically and verbally assaulting Angelina Jolie and their children, continues to be one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. Because 10 women have accused Jared Letto of sexual assault, and yet he walks free and works regularly.

We got here because our current President normalizes calling women who ask hard questions piggies, tells them to be quiet, calling them stupid and nasty. He tells them to smile more to be more attractive, and that their children will be ashamed of them for doing their job. We got here because a woman publicly defended the President by saying he was simply being “frank, open, and honest.”

We got here because women have been told for eons that WE are the problem, all the way back to Eve. Because there are thousands of men like Brock Turner that have brutalized women and are given light sentences because of their “promising futures.” We got here because when a man cheats, his wife must be a shrew. We got here because we normalized prioritizing men over women in our medical studies and our funding. We got here because men have tried throughout history to keep women small and in their place.

******

Sometimes, I want to grab my skin and tear it off to unleash the beast – the Rage- inside me. I wonder why no one else is angry. I wonder if no one else sees what’s going on, or if they do, but they are content staying in their lane and not rocking the boat. I wonder why they don’t care about others even if their life is good. I wonder why more men – all born from women – aren’t speaking up and speaking out instead of hiding behind Bible quotes and “it’s just locker room talk” bullshit.

I have a beautiful life. I haven’t been assaulted, and I haven’t been made to regularly feel small by the men in my life- and when I am, I push back. But, still- the Rage is there.

And I wonder where your rage is?

******

I have the sticker pictured here on my water bottle. And I love it. But, sometimes, I think that I’m a coward. Because this sticker is cute and socially acceptable, and it can be ignored. Because what I really need is a sign that that says Fuck all This Bullshit.