Deep Question: Does all violence stem from violence against females?

“All violence stems from violence against females.

It normalizes all other violence.” Gloria Steinem

I read those words in two different books in a period of six months.

It had an impact.

I was a stunned by the boldness of the statement and pissed off. If it's true why had I never heard it stated that way before? And maybe you have.

I then read the book that Gloria Steinem sited Sex and World Peace.

And yup, they make a very good case that countries with the best gender equality have the lowest rate of violence; including war.

The three key points they discussed, researched and gathered data on are:

Physical safety and security of women.

Family laws in place and upheld.

Women in decision making roles at all levels of society.

There are so many life-giving reasons to want gender equality.

There would only be gains for everyone. That’s perhaps why it feels so sad.

It’s a win/win my friends. Truly.

And guess what? The U.S. didn’t come out at the top end of any of those categories. Not a huge surprise really. And deeply troubling to me.

It’s brought up more questions than answers.

Who has America been great for?

What is the definition of a great country?

If I want my country to be great what to do, what to do?

I am talking about it. And as you read this, obviously, writing about it.

If I’ve peeked your interest, or your outrage, or your heart, read Sex and World Peace.

If you haven’t heard of Jackson Katz watch this

Talk about it. Find experts to listen to. Talk about it some more.

Make the invisible visible.

Silence is not golden when we are talking about oppression in any form.

Change can happen with one person taking one step. I trust that.

Here’s a step.

Towards peace.

Carol