Culture of impunity
Source: Google photo of women speaking out
Synopsis : There is a culture of impunity that exists everywhere for those who abuse others and get away with it. The blog looks at the root cause and the ways an abused person may learn to defend himself or herself.
I have written about the depredation of women who are subjected to sexual abuse in the entertainment industry where the casting couches become a standard for such abuses. It is now known that such abuses occur worldwide and are not limited to Holly Wood or Bolly Wood. ( Read my blog called the sexual depredation of women here. )
Women now have started to speak out through the Me too movement that has shown a light on the dark side of the industries where such abuses take place and some if not all abusers have been exposed and some have been sent to jails. Still a culture of impunity exists where women are too afraid to come out and openly expose the wrongdoers because rich people hire expensive lawyers to threaten the victims with the consequences or offer them hush money to keep quiet.
They also have a sinister tool in their tool kit to prevent the victims from speaking out. It is called No disclosure agreement or in short NDA that women and men must sign before they are employed that effectively seals their lips until they resign or leave the industry.
It is like a would be rapist entices a young woman with a promise of a great career in the movie or fashion industry and makes her sign the NDA so the young and beautiful young woman who is eager to get a break signs the NDA not knowing that she may be subjected to physical, moral, psychological and mental abuse later and may be prevented to speak out because she has signed the NDA. It then creates the culture of impunity for the abuser who takes advantage of his position to lure young people and sexually abuse them.
Once I was in Paris where a young model in skimpy clothes was posing for the photographer near the Eiffel tower so I stopped to watch the guy who could not take enough photos of the model so the poor girl kept on posing and changing angle every few seconds to satisfy the photographer. She was probably posing for a Vanity magazine or lingerie company although many companies use near nude models to sell their products because sex sells.
They hold fashion shows to show off their new creations of bras and panties or clothes where the models parade on the catwalk in very skimpy clothes while the photographers on both sides snap photos furiously. These models are chosen for their skinny bodies and boldness to appear in public showing a good part of their private parts. Some openly wear transparent clothes to drive home the point that they are not ashamed because the industry that pays them well demands such display to showcase what they are selling. These women are told to strictly maintain their body weight so they practically starve to do so.
They are told to have sex to stay fit so they become promiscuous in order to gain favors if they were not promiscuous before. They are frequently invited to parties by their producers where drugs, booze and sex are the theme so they turn the party into an orgy where anything goes. Young women knowingly attend such parties because they know what is expected of them. If a woman has been sexually active then what does it matter to her if a few more men jump in?
Now an Australian woman and a former model for a famous lingerie company talks freely about the depredations she suffered that shed light on the dark side of the company so watch the video here.
Source : U Tube video
To the first timers it comes as a shock but she is told that she must be a team player in order to get a role or a job as a fashion model so she loses her shyness and inhibitions especially if she is given a lot to drink that may have cocaine in it. There is always a mama san who keeps an eye on the new recruits to make sure that the party is lively. She herself is a product of such culture of drugs, sex and abuse. Her role as a mama san is the same as in a whorehouse.
Once I asked a friend why there were so many Moslem women in the Bollywood film industry in its early days, he answered that in the early days of the industry there were only Moslem whores who could sing and dance so they were given roles in the movies. It did not hurt if they were pretty. The Hindu women did not sing or dance in public because their strict culture prevented it. It changed with time so now you see many women who have become stars in Bollywood and have become famous.
But their fame and wealth came at a price they were forced to pay just like in Holly Wood . Some have come out and have exposed this dark side of the industry where the sex and drugs culture is exposed that continues to abuse the new comers.
So the root cause of this exploitation of women and men is the objectification of the new aspirants who are told in no uncertain terms what is expected of them to succeed so they comply. If they come from poverty then they accept the price they must pay in order to become a star. Once they become successful meaning well known and wealthy, they try to forget how they were exploited by the people who made them the star. I suppose it was a lot more easier for the Moslem whores who joined the movie industry in its early days. Later they were pushed out by the new comers who were more aggressive and were willing to go any length to succeed.
So I come to the question – Why some people abuse women with such impunity in the movie, cosmetic, lingerie and many other industries where they try to sell their products using pretty women in skimpy clothes? You will see them in the auto industries and wonder what has a near naked woman to do with the sale of a new car model?
I think the bestial part of this sort of behavior is rooted in the Western culture that other culture of the East try to imitate now because they too have started to believe that sex sells. If someone puts a picture of a naked woman in a U tube video, it gets more clicks even if the women has nothing to do with the subject of the video. I suppose it is the male human nature that is attracted to female nudity in some form.
There was a time in the Western culture when women wore clothes hiding their entire body but they started to shed them gradually until some of them were left with g strings on a public beach while others went a step further. Thus shedding their clothes in public came linked with shedding their inhibitions as well that led to the culture of promiscuity in some women. Such women became the trail blazers for the younger generation that picked it up with avidity. Notice that I always say some women because not all women subscribe to this aspect in their culture even today because they like to stick to their conservative views on how women should dress.
Just ask any Amish woman why they dress the way they do and they will answer that it is dignified, decent and moral. They are not the only ones who say and practice what they believe. You will not see Moslem women anywhere going bare breasted and wearing g-strings publicly. The whores do not have such inhibition but this blog is not about them.
The lingerie industry in particular is responsible for introducing the trend of skimpy clothes and diaphanous clothes that they display in prominent stores and Malls everywhere where models with stunning body and boobs wearing the lingerie are shown in huge colored posters. The old fashioned lingerie is not kept on shelves anymore because the buyers are told that the skimpy is the trend. The young women are nothing if not trendy.
When a culture introduces free mixing of sexes, the boys and girls playing together, going to school together from their childhood and later on to college, they shed all inhibitions. Those who are shy to go on dating and mixing with them are called prudes and are made fun of. If they remain virgin and are religious to boot, that too invites ridicule from those who are not like them so the pressure to conform what others are doing is doubled on them. This pressure is relentless if they manage to finish high school and go to college somewhere so some of them capitulate. Because no one wants to be lonely and without a date once in a while.
Personally I have nothing against free mixing of sexes from childhood because I have seen the negative impact on the psychology of young people where they can’t mix freely with each other. But how a boy or girl decides to live by the moral code of their society and that of their parents is best left to them and not to others in their school or college who may pressure them to conform.
Later when some men attain a level of importance in the entertainment industry meaning movies or TV or in the fashion industry, they take this free mixing with women to the next level where they start to abuse their authority over them so the casting couches come into play. Many pretty women have given in to their demands because not getting a role in the movies could make them earn a living on the streets.
So the NDA and the weakness of women in such circumstances have created the level of impunity for their abusers everywhere. Now some brave women have come out and spoken publicly about the abuse they suffered in the hands of some men and women ( remember the mamasans ?) that helps take away some of the impunity the abusers enjoy. Some have been sent to jails and others have settled with massive amount of money to the victims. In this age of instant messaging, social media and skype, one can spread the Me too movement a lot faster than the traditional media where abusive men still control them.
So I blame the culture that promotes knowingly or unknowingly the free mixing that ends up in sexual abuse of young women starting in High School and later takes it to the next level in college. Later the same people may become the abusers or the victims on a larger scale with drugs and alcohol thrown in for good measure although the drugs and alcohol may start even in high school in many cases. In the college in California, I was often asked by my dorm mates to buy for them alcohol because they were underage. Marijuana was more easily available to them.
So it does not take a genius to figure out what happens when a bunch of horny boys and girls at a certain age get to go on dates. It is no wonder that in some traditional societies, the parents still insist on chaperons when their daughters go on dates. They keep an eye on the fellow when he is seriously courting a girl to keep them out of trouble until marriage.
This culture of impunity exists everywhere. It is easy to blame the woman if she is poor and has no fancy lawyers to defend her so the wealth of her abuser creates the impunity he enjoys. A man may be punished for tax fraud , drug trafficking or human trafficking or even a simple busted light in his car but seldom a man is punished just because a woman says she was abused by him. A judge may even blame the victim for her rape if she shows up in his courtroom in skimpy clothes.
I was amused by the tradition among the Amish people in Pennsylvania where the courting couple is allowed to sleep on the same bed but a long piece of wood must divide them. This piece of wood disappears once they are formally married so I admire the restraints the young Amish people practice when they are tempted.
I should end this blog here by saying that anyone who claims to be sexually abused by someone has the choice of defending herself with whatever means she has and walk away instead of submitting to the demands. To learn how to say a firm NO is a good thing that can keep you out of trouble.
Do you have the courage to say NO ?
Note : My blogs are also available in French, Spanish, German and Japanese languages at the following links as well as my biography. My blogs can be shared by anyone anytime in any social media.
