Have I Mentioned...

HOW MUCH WOMEN'S FORUM AUSTRALIA ROCKS!?
No?
Well I shall now set about doing so...

After attending the forum hosted by Jacqui at the ACT Legislative Assembly, at which the amazing Melinda Tankard Reist spoke, I felt so empowered and releived. I felt empowered by the encouragement that I am much more than just the sum of my body parts and releived that there are people out there taking action and saying NO to the objectification of women and the sexualisation of girls. I felt relieved also by the fact that they did not just focus on the damage this does to women but also the way in which this impacts upon the men in our society.
I know all too well of the hurt caused by guys treating me like an object and then their shock and confusion when I tell them that there is more to life and not to dumb themselves down.

After reading Women's Forum Australia's (www.womensforumaustralia.org) Articles on Objectification of Women and Sexualisation of Girls I was horrofied at some of the statistics. I was especially horrofied to see, printed in black and white infront my very own eyes, the statistics for eating disorders. I have talked about these statistics and have been a part of them and yet it still shocks me and makes me sick to the core when I see them infront of me.

I would encourage everyone to stand up for what you believe in and call for change in our increasingly dark society. As a group frighting for freedom and change we are part of a much larger battle that Women's Forum Australia and many other organisations & groups are fighting. It's not always easy to stand up for what is right but I feel no one should have to go through harassement, eating disorders, depression, anxiety or any other experience and become part of the alarming statistics we see today. I feel that no one should have to live in a world which cries democracy and free speech but whispers conformity. Infact, it doesn't even whisper it, it screams it! Look around you at the Lee jeans adds, look at the dolls 6 yr olds play with, look at the cosmetic proceedures aimed at young girls! It's everywhere and we have learnt to live with it. We shouldn't have to! We shouldn't have to be made to feel inadequate by a pixelated image of a tarty fashion model exposing all by 3 sq cm of her body! Taking a stance against sexualisation is not a prude gesture of an ultra conservative nature, it's a stance on our right to be ourselves, our right to be individuals and not sexualised women and girls. It's a stance in which we say no to the exploitation of society as a whole (men and women.)

Stand up for what you believe in and fight for the future.