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Keeping Up With Kelsey: Words Matter

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Jackson Katz Quote
Jackson Katz Quote

Marquette, MichiganOctober 1, 2018 – Words Matter. And in light of the #MeToo movement and the high-profile sexual assault cases such as Brock Turner and Brett Kavanaugh, it’s about time we start to realize this.

I came across a quote made by Jackson Katz, Ph.D., on social media (don’t worry, I checked it out and it really was said by Katz) that resonated with me, and I’m sure with others as well. It drives home the old adage, words matter. See Below:

“We talk about how many women were raped last year, not how many men raped women. We talk about how many girls in a school district were harassed last year, not about how many boys harassed girls. We talk about how many teenage girls in the state of Vermont got pregnant last year, rather than how many boys and men impregnated teenage girls.

So you can see how the use of the passive voice has a political effect. It shifts the focus off of men and boys and onto girls and women. Even the term ‘violence against women’ is problematic. It’s a passive construction; there’s no active agent in the sentence. It’s a bad thing that happens to women, but when you look at that term ‘violence against women,‘ nobody is doing it to them. It just happens to them. Men aren’t even a part of it.” – Jackson Katz

If you don’t know who Jackson Katz is, you should! Here’s a blurb from his webpage:

“Jackson Katz, Ph.D., is internationally renowned for his pioneering scholarship and activism on issues of gender, race and violence. He has long been a major figure and thought leader in the growing global movement of men working to promote gender equality and prevent gender violence. He is co-founder of Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP), one of the longest-running and most widely influential gender violence prevention programs in North America, and the first major program of its kind in the sports culture and the military.”

In short, Jackson Katz is a pretty cool guy, and is helping people make strides within the gender/race equality and violence issues.

Words matter. Think before you speak. I know I’m guilty of just saying something without thinking, and need to remember this myself. We need to be aware of how words can shape thoughts and actions. We also need to remember all genders and races are affected by violence and sexual assault.

If I could re-write this quote, I would change the gender-specific language to “people.” How many people were raped by others, how many children in school were harassed by other students, how many teenagers were impregnated by other teens.

We need to think before we speak.

Words matter.

Keep up with me on The Sunny Morning Show on Sunny 101.9 FM weekdays from 6-10AM, and at sunny.fm.

 

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