Silent Minority

Di said "I never expected to meet Mr Right that way."

There was no "finding out", as your posting implied.

Ok, I'll reveal the female world's best kept secret.

You ready for this?

It's......

"Women dress the way they do because they like to."

Oh - so that's it! Boring.

Sylvia

Yeah, exactly Sylvia! it's hilarious that men are so full of themselves that they think women take an interest in clothes and makeup and self grooming and like to look nice just to attract men. NEWSFLASH, when we say that we do it "to feel good about ourselves" we really mean it. Our clothing and makeup is not always and only intended as some subliminal come-come for your benefit, Timkins.

Ok.... just when u girls thought you were out of someone to hate, here I am:).

The comments made by the Islamic fellow were partly true, and partly more a reflection of the core of Islamic 'male'ness. At the centre of Islam is a very male centered and very sex oriented culture, see Mohammed is said to have the sexual energy of 30 men, hence he had like 12 or more wives. So, having said that, he may well be accurate if he means "Islamic men will be more likely to rape women who display themselves in a provocative manner"

That aside, lets talk about 'female autonomy'. There is in fact so such thing in the natural order. Female autonomy is ALWAYS under the umbrella of relationships with powerful males. Indeed this is not readily observable in TODAY's western culture, but when one analyses the progression of culture and compares the position of females in traditional cultures, where government starts and finishes at the boundaries of a tribal territory, it is abundantly clear that men run the show.

What we have today is an artificial construct based on a considerable degree of political pressure by militant females (suffrogettes etc) but aided by sympathetic men. The fundamental reality of life, is that if a man WANTS a female, he can and often does TAKE her. Usually such a thing would be "illegal" today, but it is still 'POSSIBLE'.

The way some girls AND men dress, it is pretty hard to avoid the 'Well here I am, I've got it, and I'm flaunting it' message that comes across. Given that the community contains a significant number of men who are closer to the threshold of sexual assault behavior than others, blind nellie can see that to dress in a way which stimulates this, and then to have the nerve to think u can walk around at any time of day or nite at any place and avoid such people, is just plain STUPID.

If we are to believe recent mental health statistics, then one in five will suffer mental illness at some point in their lives. This I presume includes a cross section of society and does not discriminate on the basis of what one wears. It is just as likely to include potential rapists as it does the mini-skirt wearers.

It is fine for all of us to demand safety in the streets at any time of day and night, and it is understandable that we want to improve the health system. However, those unaware of the risks and dangers should be willing to take some advice on safety. Those who drive cars are usually aware of road rules and take safety precautions. They know it is possible to lose control of a vehicle – if not themselves, then other drivers can put their lives at risk.

Just as no one ever deserves to be raped, others do not deserve to die as a result of crime or accident. People sent to war have a fair idea of risks they will endure (or not) - less so, the people taking up smoking or other addictive substances.

The point is that some risks we take in everyday life are legislated against; others are not. Legally or illegally, these things still occur. It makes no sense for people to take known risks and feel immune of any consequence.

Seeker... WELLL SAID !
slightly more benign than the way I put it, :) and probably more bearable to the feminists here, but sometimes we need to be colorful in making a point, to break through the accumulated layers of rediculous accumulated propoganda about 'being female' that so many females have just swallowed hook line and sinker.

I reiterate, without the protective relationship of some male somewhere, and this will include police, females are VULNERABLE, to exacerbate this vulnerability with overly provocative attire is naive at best, and culpably foolhardy at worst.

If we have to display our male or female 'bits' in provative ways to 'feel good' about ourselves, then I question the whole basis of 'feeling good' in such a life. If feeling good means to tempt, and flaunt one's self in a way which we KNOW is likely (or is specifically designed to ) to frustrate or stimulate the opposite sex, and suggest that we are 'come and get it baby, I'm all tits and ass' (and vice versa for males) then, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that in some cases its as much the fault of the victim as the perpetrator of sexual molestation. Holding up a sign 'GO' but then expecting provoked members of the opposite sex to understand "Oh.. hunni, this is not for you, so get lost you loser" is a tad optimistic I feel and has a strong likelihood of bringing out the absolute worst in 'close to the threshold' people.

So, wear what you like, do what you like, show off whateva -but don't whine when some idiot takes the message seriously and doesn't have the will power to restrain himself and finds himself in the position to actually DO something about it.

Without dignifying Boaz's execrable comments by responding to him directly, I suppose that women (and young men and kids too) wearing bathing costumes are asking for it if they excite the irrepressible base urges of heterosexual and/or homosexual men and paedophiles?