It’s a strange thing how many people support women’s autonomy, but only when it’s her autonomy to do the things we like. We all love body confident, empowered and independent women; those who know who they are, what they want and aren’t afraid to go get it. We allow this kind of autonomy. But when a woman steps outside of these ideals, one who wants to be a stay at home mum for example, then suddenly, for some, she’s ‘internally oppressed’ and clearly brainwashed. Her autonomy is revoked. I see the women in my comments sections confronted with this paradox too – called a ‘pick me’ or patriarchal handmaiden, simply for having their own ideas, opinions and questions. So too we see the same phenomena when a woman is an abuser - the people who championed women’s autonomy, suddenly shuffle their feet awkwardly. ‘She didn’t mean it’, ‘he made her’, ‘she’s the victim’, ‘she had no choice!’ Such as the #justiceforjohnnydepp fiasco. And like that, her autonomy is gone. So remember, women’s autonomy is also her autonomy to do bad and to make decisions you *don’t* agree with. So what kind of autonomy do you support? ~ Images by Javier Miranda, Molly Blackbird, Melvin Ankrah, Jana Sabeth, Jakob Owens, Conscious Designs from Unsplash

2022-06-18