being human.

I haven't had a post in awhile due to a concussion I suffered in July. The day before Independence Day is when it occurred. Many things have happen since that time: I am no longer with Our Neighborhood Times, albeit informally, my relationship is not soured just ended. The protests in Ferguson to which I took to my personal Facebook account to engage in conversations about racism, equality, and change that I feel is much needed.

However the most recent thing on my mind is the hacking of Apple iCloud and release of celebrities nude photos to the public. The identity of the hacker has yet to be found but the names listed in this report have either tweeted disgust or denied completely the photos are of them.

This display from the virile underbelly of entertainment media stems from the lack of sexual education and sexual exploration. The sexual objectification of women, where it is normative to strip away humanity of women and happens far to often.

What the hell happen to human?

It's not enough that you violate people's privacy. It's not enough that they try to be as genuine as they can in interviews. It's not enough they setup places to meet you, create twitter feeds to stay connected with you, and sign your autographs at expos and Comic-cons. Somehow it wasn't enough was it.

It's not enough that some of these stars have already done sexy photo-shoots that they have consented to. No really. This is a consented photo of  Ms. Lawrence:

There's more too, but this isn't enough? To the extent we sexually objectify women and to what means we will go has no bounds.

As a Man I take responsibility for feeding this dehumanizing culture of seeing women as objects and normalizing the reaction as acceptable. However I will do everything I can in my personal everyday life to not be a sexist, chauvinistic, and downright deplorable individual who takes the stance of #NotAllMen. I will be an ally. Why? Because #YesAllWomen. 

Because yes she consented to the photo shoot above but that does not mean they had this coming, or that it's something they should have expected if they had nude photos on a private hard drive. An intrusion of privacy and exploitation of their physical appearance is not only a complete violation of who they are as women, as humans it is also ILLEGAL. 

We can try to reason with this all we want, but the truth is not that we are voyeuristic and curious that makes us want to see the photos now that they are available. It is because we are a sexist society that holds the perception of sexual objectification heavily on women. Because the mentality, be it suggestive and nuanced, is that sexual objects is all women are good for. That perception must die. We are not entitled to seeing these women's bodies nude simply because they are entertainers, actresses, and public figures.

Despite how public a lot of their actions are, they still deserve privacy and respect so they can have some sort of normalcy in their lives to which none of us can relate to.

You may see the pictures and say "I didn't leak them" and you may justify with that thought, reason, and logic so you can do whatever it is your going to do with the photos just know this: Whatever you are doing, is without the consent of the other party. Sound familiar?

What the hell happen to being human? Sadly and most disappointing, you'd have to ask a man first, because women are still fighting to try and find out what that feels like.

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