Don’t let the floral dress and the pretty face fool you. I am sure many have been lulled into the misguided notion that this young woman here can be taken lightly. Enter Nova, a strong, smart and seemingly witty person whom I really do not know except for our brief moment during the shoot and my occasional consuming of her IG stories, a feed that I actually look forward to reading. You can learn a lot about a person from their IG stories 🙂
Today we are witnessing evolution in action, as the collective strength of women is finding it’s way to the surface. Bravely and jointly challenging the years old norms of sexual misconduct by men of power and men of meagre means all the same. We are living in a time where it would be foolish of us to not recognize the shift that is taking place.
The headlines tonight on NBC News.com is
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue goes #MeToo. Not everyone is happy
As many of us may have read already the Time magazine 2017 Person of Year were the Silence Breakers. Primarily women and some men, coming forward and speaking out bravely about the abuses they have faced at the hands of men. Egregious behavior that has been allowed to fester and flourish and passed on to generations of young men. Many of whom may have never given it a thought that those snide sexually laced comments made in passing were abusive.
I have read Nova’s posts where she rants on about the seemingly oblivious conduct of men, the creepy comments and DMs that social media is clearly awash with. And it is troubling. I am sure many women today can attest to the fact that all it takes is one image, of no particular sexual proclivity, to bring the creeps out. The lewd comments, the fake accounts seeking a wife, a girlfriend, professing their love and desire for a woman they know absolutely nothing about, reigns supreme in our day. And as a man of a certain age I am truly still amazed. Honestly it is quite baffling when trying to understand the mind of the people that get off on such behavior. What in your experience allow you to believe that this is ok? How can you not be aware that your behavior can be and is harmful to many. As men many of us are misguidedly entitled. Definitely learned behaviors.
So it is encouraging to see the many women, like Nova, finding the fortitude to stand up and speak out. To confront the hypocrisy in our actions, the fathers and brothers and sons among us who seemed to have forgotten that it is because of a woman we are here. To remind us that dignity and respect I dare say are human rights and not something bestowed upon a person.
Here’s to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them. – A post on Nova’s IG feed.
#MeToo
Much respect Nova!
Photography by Rawle C. Jackman
Model: @spacelordnovalia – IG