In my opinion this is a reality. I do not have the luxury of choosing non-violence. When a man decides he wants to hurt me, I don’t get to pause, cool down the situation and have a conversation with him about his motives. When I am pinned to a wall and he is unzipping his pants, I can tell him to stop; I can shout and scream, and have him proceed as he wills. When the situation is the stronger taking advantage of the weaker, the weaker cannot afford to reason with the stronger because it is not to the stronger’s advantage to comply. When the point is reached where one is denying another the freedom of choice, that negates the need for words and calls for action.

Welcome to the gray area! Violence is wrong. Abuse is wrong. The strong taking advantage of the weak is wrong. This opinion covers one small perspective in a much larger reality. There is a vast multitude of ways that women take advantage of men, but this piece is highlighting fight, flight and “unalienable” rights. Woman serves a purpose. She does not in form have value. Not only is she objectified, but she is made an object, lower than human. It is disgusting.

As a woman, in free America, I diet and exercise to look the way I am supposed to, to be considered pretty by society’s standards. I exercise to maintain a cardiovascular system that allows me to run long distances, if the need arises. I train and exercise to be able to fight back. These are things I have always done. My subconscious fears have been preparing me to be an object. My lifestyle is determined by a constant state of fear. The root of this fear: man. I live, breathe and contribute to society as a reflection of my own devalued, fearful state, of what it means to be a woman. I am less.

Now, the call to action. In choosing to deny the system I have decided to not remain as the weaker. I will be strong. But, I am to be strong not out of the freedom of choice, but out of fearful necessity. When it comes down to his will or my freedom, I will not be victimized by social norms or expectations. I recognize that I am not entitled to the freedom of speech. My “no” doesn’t mean no. My “stop” does not mean stop. But action seems to be a universal language. If man wants to take away woman’s freedom of speech, it seems logical for woman to defend that freedom. This is the time to fight. When man’s ears are no longer hearing. When honor and value of human life is not enough, now is the time to fight.

What world do we live in that woman is to live in fear of man? We live in a world where woman’s greatest threat is man.