Reader Opinion Piece - REMEMBER TO TAKE CONSENT TO BE DECENT.

By Achintya K

Rape jokes, gender discrimination, and the portrayal of women are finding their way into jokes and scripts within the entertainment industry. Our popular culture often finds it profitable to link filth with women, and I think it is inconsolable that audiences find humor in such issues.

Let me ask you this— has slut shaming got any better since the ‘90s? Is the notion of consent getting more comprehensible to a wider audience? Are women in the glamour industry objectified less now?

Consent is the permission to do something. It is one of the smallest and simplest definitions I have heard, but surprisingly, it is understood by few. Sexual freedom has become another palatinate that women in today’s world are locking horns with. Women without power are like bodies of water without fish. Isn’t this pathetic?

There is solely one word which gives you consent and that is YES. How burdensome is this word for anyone to give an ear to, to ask for, and to understand? We distinctly do not dwell in a Cinderella fantasy, and we aren’t featuring in a porn film where women constantly want to have sexual desires. The world stands in need of feminism. None of us here are passively waiting on the floor for men to pick our body up. These fantasies are just feeding and adding fuel to rape culture.

Women are still harassed for their sex lives. It is very sad that the most eloquent and influential women have set a foot on their positions and seized their goals through paths that are dictated and directed by the male gaze and patriarchal values. The fact that women are desired to be timid and struggle with getting basic respect and rights gives our society a false sense of male superiority. I believe that the only rule today should be consent. Our society teaches men that women are always sexually available, and in the face of this, consent is what liberation means.

I want women to abscond the passive sexual role given to them by our society and culture. Self-ownership and liberty can seem like more of an unattainable question for many women rather than a realistic concept or idea. Many women are held to authority and compulsion to an extent that they are not able to speak up and be independent.

I want women to choose liberty. I want them to choose the path of action instead of restriction. Every force that you possess should be used for self-ownership and liberty.

Understand consent and turn decent.
Men don’t get this and end up in the news event.
Yes is a yes, and it is not written on my dress.
No is a no, even if I am a hoe.
The option is mine, you are not on a fucking game show.
I don’t desire vanilla sex, don’t be in a perplex
She was drunk,
But that doesn’t mean that you can fuck!
She sleeps around anyway?
I am sorry but this wasn’t supposed to be your hold sway!
Low cut top and a mini skirt?
I can see how much of a mind you have filled with dirt!
“We have had sex before?”
This isn’t an open door, where you keep a score.
You aren’t in a candy store which you don’t have budget for!
Gender always fails to realize my position and further demands for submission.
Nevertheless, I am going to burn the competition and gender will soon be seen in a new edition.

Achintya K is an 18 year-old student who has been blogging about current affairs since the 10th grade. You can follow her on her Wordpress blog or on Twitter at @MastAuratA .