The
undeniable, mad eyed glee I felt, mixed with a little bit of hysterical
guilt, when Lisbeth Salander (Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) shoved a
huge dildo up Bjurman's arse and tattooed 'I AM A SADISTIC PIG AND A
RAPIST' on his torso was such a 'Fuck Yeah!' moment for me that I’ve
been seriously wondering about it ever since. I mean, should I really
feel so deliriously and deliciously delighted when retribution is
exacted with such violence? Ohh sweet, guilt free revenge. Larsson
delivered it and I sucked on it lovingly, swallowed it deeply and let it
satiate my anger.
You
see, anger, rage and fury are so much a part of my happy, mild mannered
existence that I have to question why that dichotomy is so seemingly
normal and acceptable within me.
But
as a girl and a woman, walking the streets requires a steely, watchful,
ready to defend myself fury. The scenarios that present themselves in
my mind and my reaction to them (uppercut to the nose, an eye gouge, a
ball breaking knee to the groin for example) force my state of being
into a subdued level of anxiety. Consequently, I am left in a state of
rage because my nice peaceful morning walk has been ruined.
Self
defence classes liberated me from what I’ve always known - that, as a
woman, I am the ultimate underdog. A female’s life begins with this
knowledge - bestowed or otherwise - and it's trajectory is controlled by
it. Armed with this knowledge, women modulate almost every response,
consciously or not. Whether it is playground harassment, a teacher's
favour, daddy's approval, career climbing or simply socialising, a woman
must measure a man's feelings toward her and decide if they are just
and that she is secure.
Armed
with a taser gun, a dildo, some kick arse moves and best of all, no
guilt, Salander (ie. all of us) can assuage our rage and exact revenge.
And it feels fucking awesome.
Angry,
aggressive women are generally demeaned, ridiculed or treated with
horror and disgust. Bjork’s airport 'incident' is described on youtube
as a “Classic scene where singer Bjork goes insane and strikes and
attacks a reporter in the airport.” Women are taught to be forgiving,
not to seek revenge and to let the (paternalistic) law exact
retribution. Lisbeth Salander says ‘Fuck That’ and takes back her
feminine power. And we ride with her on some bastard’s Harley with near
ecstatic relish.
That's why I support Slutwalk.
The 2014 march will be held on Saturday, September 6.
