Freedom: A Picture

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHA-cJEBStV/?taken-by=misanarratesFreedom defined means having “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants.” Politically we could liken freedom to the presence and respect of human rights by a government in any given country. Socially, we could liken freedom to people respecting each other’s human rights. But we all know that, while there may be talk of respect for human rights, freedom makes various groups uncomfortable.Freedom, in practice, includes thinking outside of general or societal norms. Most activist work k the basis of achieving freedom for their respective causes. For example, feminists aim to make men and women equal to each other in all spheres of life. In the early 1900s, in Western societies specifically, women did not have the voice they have today. They were not meant to consider themselves Dayak go their male counterparts or capable of more than their given gender role. That isn't freedom. Freedom looked like women in the 1960/70s burning their beauty products because they did not want to be forced into what they were taught women should look like.Fast forward to 2016 when students at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa demanded justice and change regarding the University’s management of sexual assault cases. For years sexual assault victims have undergone unfair treatment by society. The question of “what was he/she wearing” is a poignant marker if blame for the assume being placed on the victim. Suggestion people, specifically women, cover up to prevent sexual assault is an absence of freedom consider they are being barred from dressing how they want. In this instance, freedom looks like the young students if Rhodes University that disrobed in public in protest of rape culture.Freedom, an awkward concept, is different I definition than in practice; women are supposedly “free”, but face so many restrictions. Is that freedom? For women, freedom looks like an assortment of things. For example, it looks like walking down the street without being sexually harassed. In addition, it looks like being able to breastfeed, especially in a society that sexualizes the female body, in public without discrimination or ridicule. Finally, freedom looks like being treated fairly when reporting sexual assault.