2-3-4 Challenge Book Discussions #1 discussion
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Where Serpents Sleep
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I am not a historian, but I believe the double standard about how men and women conduct themselves was clearly different. A woman who lost her virginity (no matter how, apparently), if not to her husband, was considered used goods and not recognized in good society.I was a teen in the mid-1960s, and that was before contraception was readily available. The double standard was still in place, but not as rigidly as one hundred fifty years ago.
My guess is that the present-day situation is much different, but we still see areas where men think it is their right to oppress women, and sadly, domestic abuse of children still is a hidden and horrid thing.
Unfortunately, the double standard is still alive and well even in our society. A man who sleeps around is a stud while a woman who does the same is considered a slut. While one would like to think that attitudes toward prostitutes has evolved and the police do care when something happens, I'm more pessimistic and don't think it has not changed all that much. Too often the police consider the deaths of prostitutes a hazard of their job and perhaps don't invest as many resources in solving crimes that involve them.
I think modern day attitudes have generally evolved for the better but there are still areas where that old core belief is present. Even when talking about sexual violence against women who aren't prostitutes, there is still that old attitude that how a woman dresses or acts somehow means she was "asking for it". For women who make their living as prostitutes, I think there is definitely still the tendency to somehow value their lives less.
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It also takes longer to recognize serial killers of prostitutes. They just don't command the initial attention until the pattern becomes obvious.
Yes, there is still too much of that "blame the victim" mentally, unfortunately. :-(
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I agree with the most recent comments you've all made. Blaming the victim happens in lots of aspects of life -- a serious problem for our culture and we call it civilization???
That civilization is merely a veneer. We are still the barbarians who lived in caves underneath it all, lol!
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Jonetta wrote: "And it's typically men who cry foul against these women the loudest. "The hypocrites!
It always annoys me that it is the prostitutes who get arrested and the Johns get off with a slap on the wrist if anything. These men need to be publicly shamed. Perhaps if they feared losing their wives or their jobs as a result of their behavior, they wouldn't prey on desperate women.
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Lauren wrote: "Jonetta wrote: "And it's typically men who cry foul against these women the loudest. "The hypocrites!
It always annoys me that it is the prostitutes who get arrested and the Johns get off with a..."
Absolutely!
Stephanie wrote: "Agree with you all! Also, always wonder why the prostitutes are viewed as less than human, but the johns are not looked down upon. Without them, there wouldn't be prostitutes."Absolutely agree with you here!
I dont think it has changed at all and I do not think it will ever change.
I agree with everyone. All you have to do is watch a few cases on ID and you will see girls/women deaths go cold more than men. Prostitutes murders are put on the back burner for more high profile cases, even plea deals seem more lenient when it comes to women.
The lives of the eight women killed at Magdalene House weren't given value by law enforcement or the community because they were considered whores. Was this, in reality, the attitude of that era? Have we evolved much in modern day attitudes?