Rebecca Mott: On Whiteness, Privilege and Male Violence
Nov 17th, 2008 by admin
by Rebecca Mott
The answer to the question about whether being white and privileged prevents women from being forced to live with extreme male violence is written on my body.
That question has silenced me. That question has placed me in great danger, many times life threatening.
Being white and privileged did not prevent my stepdad raping and mentally abusing me.
Being white and privileged did not stop the johns raping me over, over and over again.
Being white and privileged did not stop having my body made into a dustbin for the john’s porn fantasies.
Being white and privleged did not stop me from nearly being murdered by johns.
But being white and privileged did mean I was not believed that I had been prostituted, because I did not “need” the money.
Being white and privileged meant hearing others saying why didn’t I buy my way out.
Being white and privileged meant the words of my “decent” family were always true, because the middle-class don’t abuse.
The truth is, any woman can become a prostituted women, any girl can be abused.
Everytime one group of women or girls is seen as more worthy of sympathy, then far too many women and girls fall through the gaps.
Being white and privileged may not have stopped those things from happening to you, but they weren’t the reason those things happened either.
Femnist Review, that’s correct, the targeting was not on account of class or race. The targeting was on account of sex. The reality of being targeted for rape, brutality, torture, gang rape, murder doesn’t change because it is on account of our sex. The point is, or one point is, no form or amount or kind of privilege protects women from this particular targeting.
The reason these things happened to Rebecca Mott — the reason these things happen to all of the women they happen to, millions and millions of girls women, billions throughout history, without respect to race, class, who the woman loves, ability or disability, religion, ethnicity — is because we are women.
That’s why we need feminism, you know?
I disagree. It was because of class. Her class was that of a defenseless child and youth when her grooming began.
Women are a class. White women are a part of the class of women. Children of whatever colour or race are a class.
Yeah, I agree, Sis, that what happened to Rebecca Mott happened because she is a member of a specific class, the class called women.
I was abused because I was a girl and a woman.
I think there are always reasons/excuses given for not believing women and girls when they speak about male violence. I was not believed because I was “posh”, or because I was too coherent. I was not distressed enough. I did not have enough injuries on my body. I did not report immediately after the violence.
This happens to the majority of women and girls who speak about male violence. They to be silenced and blamed.
When men choose to rape, sexually tortured or battered a women or girl, they see that she is a female to be degraded and humiliated.
I feel class, race, ethinity, sexuality, whether they were abused as children or not and many other factors are vitally important.
But violent men will rape, batter, torture and verbally whatever women or girl where they think others won’t give a damn.
That is why women and girls in the sex trade are targeted. Why poor and black women and girls are targeted. Why girls are often raped by close family members. Why women on the “outside” are targeted.
But in the end the target is all women and girls - they just pick us off one at a time.