48 is not old!! ;) I'm kickin' 44 and I'm running with "40 is the new 30". Thank you for the deep response! That video was pretty funny! It def touches that uncomfortable nerve of victimization in feminism (which I struggle with) and yet shines a light on the truth that yes, we bleed from our vaginas, shove some cotton up there and get shit done. Warriors for sure!

Fascinating that you have campaigns for how to respect women in Australia. It's hopeful and sad at the same time. That we have to have commercials about how to treat others is a sad commentary on where we are as a collective society. But, it's also amazing that Australia thought deeply enough about this issue to design and produce campaigns around it. I couldn't imagine such a thing here in the States right now. Polarization and placing demographics/genders/races against one another is literally the political strategy of the Right at the moment (and of foreign actors trying to influence our politics through social division-- the FBI released that report last month). And our democratic leadership is too weak or complicit to even be bothered with addressing these issues. We literally had a republican congressman say YESTERDAY, that if it weren't for rape and incest the American population wouldn't have survived. And he rambled on for a long period justifying this belief in a public speech. Last I checked, that was the plot for Handmaid's Tale.

And I'm so sorry that sexual violence is part of your personal story. That's awful. It truly does make you wonder how the fuck people are raising their children. And how the society as a whole continues to empower the rapists and violent offenders by placing them in positions of immense power-- over and over again. It's truly terrifying when men who violently abuse women and openly disregard women as "less than" are given complete control over an entire nation. And who then proceed to embolden the insecure and violent young men (and old men) at scale and give them the safety and security to continue the abuse. Most of our mass shootings are conducted by openly misogynistic young men who feel alienated and who hold a deep hatred for women-- many of whom are radicalized online.

That said, I do still see and interact with amazing men who are aware and kind-- and it gives me hope that we will, at some point, find the balance of a matriarchal society like Hive account@artemislives has found. I spent some time on a remote island of Indonesia working on a project years back and the matriarchy on that island was present everywhere-- it was so peaceful and balanced. I also found my time in the Middle East and Pakistan fascinating-- particularly the relationship between men and women. The reality is much more nuanced than the media portrays it (captain obvious there). In some instances (or in many instances) the oppression of women is overbearing and heartbreaking. But, I've also never felt safer as a woman while traveling in these countries. I'm not talking about equality in this instance, but personal respect and security. I've only felt scared for my safety, as a woman, in my country. That's saying something.