So a thought that I have been mulling over in my head has been inspired by this video:
I love that. It takes the idealized, distant Disney princess that many girls of my generation have grown up with and transcends it into daily life.
I think this is important. Let me tell you why.
I recently told a friend that I was at an anti-human trafficking conference. I was actually told a joke in reply later that if I wanted to help human trafficking, people needed to be told to stay on one side of the road or another. Let me say, this made me laugh so hard because I told myself the same thing everyday I was in high school and had to fight to get to class! The sad part of the joke is, however, that some of you might not realize it's a joke. When I say, "Human Trafficking," what comes to your mind?
Some of you might have seen the movie, "Taken" and that's what comes up in your head.
Some of you more educated on the issue might have visions of people in far off countries that are being kidnapped after being lured into the the false promises of jobs and then are forced to be prostitutes. That kind of stuff, in your mind, happens in Greece, the Philippines, Vietnam. Third world countries where people are desperate for jobs and are therefore, more vulnerable to being manipulated.
Some of you might even see a prostitute and say, "Well, she's desperate to make money and if there's a demand, then she can support herself and that's her choice."
My question is however, if you were posed with that situation, where you had no money and no one to support you, would you really WANT to sell your body to strange men over and over?
The problem is, I work with women who are born American. They are girls that you and I would go to school with growing up. We could have been on the same soccer team, the same dance class, the same debate team. We could have been friends. What happens is they find themselves in circumstances, not by choice, where no one loves them. Many times, they are even abused as kids. They are then exposed and vulnerable to people who see a demand for cheap labor or see the demand for "no strings sex" (as if that exists) and exploit these women to make them do what they want. These girls (they are my age for crying out loud) are forced and coerced into this. They trust someone that no one has taught them to distrust and find themselves in a situation where they fear for their lives or their family's lives if they don't do what they are told.
I could tell you all the things Redeemed does to help these women once they get out. I probably will some other blog. The problem is though, once they come to us they are already traumatized. They are already scarred and will carry that for the rest of their lives. What they need, is to not be abused in the first place.
So you may be asking, "How do you get from a Disney Princess video to sexually abused women?" Great question.
The thing is, we live in a culture where women are objectified. Men (and women. Yes, we are guilty of buying into the idea sometimes. I include myself in this statement.) see a women on a billboard or a magazine and they are selling something using sex. You look at the model in the window at Abercrombie. You don't think, "Oh, what a pretty girl. I wonder if she is nice and has dreams and aspirations of being a doctor." No. You think, "Wow that top looks really cute. I'm going to buy it." The women in the photos or on commercials become objects, not people.
This can be taken a step further into pornography. This isn't just a male issue, it's a women one too. It's so pervasive in our culture. We glorify it and call it, "The Twilight series." "50 Shades of Grey." "Cosmopolitan." "The sex scene of a movie." "The love story of a TV show." Honestly, if I wanted to eliminate it completely from my life, I would have to not have a TV or have a Netflix subscription, never go to the mall or drive on the street, never buy a magazine and keep my head down as I walk. That's how engrained it is in our culture. We buy into it. I include myself in this, like I've already said.
What normally happens is this mentality then begins to go just from fantasies in our head to realities in our heart. As humans, we like to make dreams become reality. In some cases this is good. Dreams are what drives us. What is bad is if those dreams are destructive and lead us to do destructive things. That's what happens when we objectify women in fantasy. We then escalate to making it true in our lives. That's why human trafficking will probably always exist unless something happens to stop the demand.
What I love about this Disney video is I look at these girls and I see them as GIRLS. They have hopes and dreams. They are into music, friendship, gardening, race car driving, archery. You can see they have feelings and love dancing with their Daddies. They like swimming with friends. What would happen to our culture if we saw women in our advertisements like THAT. What if we realized that it could be our daughters and sisters in that photo plastered on the wall of a mall. We would treat them totally different. It brings me to tears to think about that. I would be so joyful if I never had to work against human trafficking again. If I never had to see a girl and know the pain they have endured.
If I ever got the chance to meet Princess Kate, I don't know if I would have adequate words to say to her I'd be so starstruck. I mean come on people. She is idolized for being so poised and graceful, and she is. She is the quintessential of every girl's dream. She grew up in a non-royalty family and became a princess after falling in love with the man of her dreams! What girl doesn't want that? If I met her, I would treat her with the upmost respect and courtesy because she's ROYALTY.
Thing is, what if we treated everyone like that?
The Bible says in Romans 8:16-17a
"The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ..."
God created all of us. He values all of us just like we are his children. If God is the king, that makes us princes and princesses. All of us.
I'm a Princess, a daughter of the King. Treat my brothers and sisters like one too.
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