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Our Bodies Are Ours Alone
I am responsible for my body and no one else. Not my friends, not my family, not my doctor.
I was reminded of this when I broke my toe last week by clumsily jamming it against a doorframe. It was my mistake, and I’m paying for it. It was my job to call the doctor, and it’s my job to do what I can (which is very little) to help it heal properly.
The only person who will deal with the consequences of my body, my physical being, is me. And because of that, I expect, nee demand, full control and authority over my body: over doctors, over lovers, over strangers. No exceptions, no negotiations.
Is this a particular male point of view? I would hope not, but it seems in our society, men are able to operate under this assumption in ways women can’t.
It was already out there, of course, but #MeToo helped me realize this. And in thinking of how to be a better man, I am trying to think, and encourage other men to as well, about this reality and how we can change it.
This idea came to mind after the latest mass shooting in America, in Aurora, Ill., where a 45-year-old man killed five people at the office of his former employer. This shooting is not an anomaly. The murderer had a criminal record, and was not supposed to be able to acquire or own guns. But that really isn’t surprising in our gun-worshipping…
