Equality and why we have a long way to go.
Recently I have been searching for ways to improve my skill set with the aim of supporting my future career and personal lifestyle. Taking on board advice from a previous working role I decided to focus on my confidence, in writing I am extremely confident and willing to open up about all kinds of subjects, debates, and personal experiences...face to face not so much.
While searching for ways to improve this I came across a popular table top and also an online game called Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). Having an interest in the online computer gaming industry I was intrigued to find out what is entailed. The game itself is very appealing, sandbox and completely open to creativity and imagination in a role-play environment.
Now there is the issue, having never taken part in a role-play scenario, having previously just played characters as myself controlling a character in games such as World of Warcraft and Sim's, This was a whole new territory for me making me quite nervous. There is and always has been a stigma towards 'girl gamers' on the web just as much as in physical work environment and social settings. This stigma isn't showing signs of vanishing despite the excellent work of women all over the world. In a way, I feel the online treatment towards women, especially in gaming and social media is not disputed anywhere near as much and is an ever-increasing problem! All you have to do is log onto networking sites such as Instagram and Facebook to see the sexualization and belittling of females smack you in the face and in my personal experience playing D&D was no exception!
A really nice group I met on a D&D forum were more than happy to introduce me to the game, teach me the rules and how to play which were excellent, what wasn't excellent was once the game started, I am not even exaggerating, within 30 seconds a ' male character' zoned in on my 'female character' and was not shaken off easily! Even fictional women are not exempt from the harassment we endure daily and it's appalling, a game that was supposed to focus on confidence, problem-solving and open up the creative elements in my mind went into a complete shutdown and was ruined before it had even started. This is something we see through all setting such as workplaces, job roles, rates of pay, in the streets and now thanks to technology it's with us everywhere through our phones.
One of the harrowing facts I find in this world is if you ask any woman, in some form they have been exposed to sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. this may consist of indecent images, text messages, shouted/wolf whistled/verbally bullied at in the street to physical assault! I find it astonishing how still in our day in age, when we are supposed to be the most connected generation, we are still so disconnected to society and how to be sociable in a positive manner especially when there are such valuable resources made to us in the media such as the incredible 13 reasons why.
(spoiler ahead)
The powerful scene in court when Jessica is talking through the harrowing emotions of that evening, as it flips between the women, all stating their exposure, it really highlights just how dominant sexual harassment is in humanity and how desperately something needs to be done about it to save our future children from this monstrosity, As a woman, as a mother, and as a wife I believe if we all stand up, we all question the ridiculous behaviour of individuals we can accomplish something amazing. you don't have to be a woman to question the behavior of a woman, The next time you witness someone disrespecting a man or woman (as sexual harassment is known towards male's too) then please speak up, speak your mind and help the movement to eradicate it all! A saying I once read was ' Men of quality respect women's equality' and this has stuck with me and can be adapted to all walks of life.
