Adek Stein expressed concern about recounting the sexual violence experienced by women during the Holocaust, stating, 'I do not want to go on, worried that the story is too drastic to recount in front of these girls.' His hesitation reflects the deep emotional scars that such memories carry.
Being watched in public is perhaps a uniquely female experience. Sadly many women can relate to being leered at from car windows or catcalled from scaffolding, with video content being the latest, depressing escalation of this kind of behaviour.
Putting on makeup. Like, we're supposed to disguise ourselves; otherwise, people think we didn't take this outing seriously, didn't care enough, or didn't act professionally. In some ways, beauty standards are social obligations. Keeping up with nails, clothes, hair, etc., that's almost an expectation in some relationships.
I didn't speak up in my first marriage because I didn't think I was supposed to. I think a lot of women, especially those raised to be the good girl, have lived this same script. My upbringing ingrained in me the need to 'follow the rules' and 'don't rock the boat,' leading to a silence that felt expected rather than rebelled against.
