Eyes On Me

Eyes On Me

Isabella McAllister, Newspaper Editor-In-Chief

You drive past Kroger and stop at the stop sign. As you look to your right you see a man walking up to your passenger door and attempt to enter your car. He repeatedly pulls at the handle and you freeze, unable to move the car, but you get out the muffled words of help. Next thing you know you are in the store and you see men staring at you, surrounding you closer and closer. You can feel the grip of their hands as their fingers try to wrap around your arms. Suddenly you are woken up to loud noise. It was an Amber Alert of a seventeen-year-old girl. It was just a nightmare…

Our new normal in modern-day society is not talked about enough, and it never is taught to us. Young women are constantly in fear of the world around them. The fear of going places alone and a fear of what others are capable of. We live in a world of hate and daily wrongdoings. Young girls are forced to feel the need to dress and act a certain way in order for them to not be looked at. It is not safe being a young girl in today’s world. 

I cannot say how many times I have gone into a store by myself without thinking anything of it. But the days that I do pay attention, it is chilling to see people stare at you based on how you feel comfortable dressing. I can wear a pair of leggings and a t-shirt, which is appropriate for work, and be looked at like a meal. Being cat-called and yelled at as I walk with my friends to the next store at the mall is horrifying. Being objectified based on my body type and what I choose to wear is demeaning. Some people could argue that yes as teenagers we could dress more modestly. While that could happen, it is our choice and we should not have to cover up or not wear tight clothes because someone could not keep their eyes off of us. That is not our fault. 

My mom used to get irritated and mad all of the time when we would walk through the Walmart in town. I never understood or noticed that older men would look at me in an evil and vile looking way. It wasn’t until I got older that I myself noticed and understood the anger from my mother. I felt like I could not dress a certain way because of the eyes that were on me from these men. I would even see other girls older or even younger than me being eyed down. Most people try to argue that it is all based on us, women, that we can prevent these things from happening to us. But, I didn’t ask for these things to happen and I didn’t dress the way I did or have the body type that I do in order to be looked at. 

It saddens me that I fear taking out the trash at my own work. For my own safety, I carry around a bottle of pepper spray. I do this in order to feel a little more reassurance for myself and my own safety. I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO. While I have yet to have to use it, I feel that every young girl should have it. Especially girls who are working late at night and are out after dark. Teen girls are often a perfect target for these criminals to abduct. I have heard so many stories of girls who I know or live close to being followed by strange men. I hear stories of children being taken and never seeing their family again or ending up dead. 

It is scary to be growing up as a young girl and feeling like I have to do certain things in order to not be seen as a target. I am completely terrified of knowing that I cannot just be. It breaks my heart knowing that these cruel people exist in the world, but it is now becoming our new normal.