Commodified Females and The Boss
by Elouise
It’s out there. I published it. Why am I feeling so much more exposed now than I did when I wrote about my father? Or even the Shopkeeper?
Not sure. Except that it’s getting closer to where I’ve lived all my life—in the company of men. Not just my father, but all men who feel contempt for women.
I’m feeling contempt-worthy. I’m not sure what to make of it. My life has uncountable contradictions and betrayals small and large. Yet this is different. It’s the feeling of being unclean. Disgusting. Loathsome.
Is this what women have to say and do and go through when they tell the truth about what’s happened and is still happening to them?
Maybe that’s it. Telling the truth is more than a cleansing. It’s a ritual of impurity. Pulling back the curtain on what’s really happening in situations that seem normal, happy, good, positive, smiling role-model type situations.
Is nothing as it is?
If not, the only thing to do is pull back the curtain on what’s really happening. Not just on the outside, but on the inside. Not just on victims, but on perpetrators.
This isn’t a peep show. It’s life as it is. Not written for voyeurs, but for those who want to become part of the solution. Men and women who want truth for themselves, and a change of heart and life.
The difference between Us and Them is a myth.
Commodified* females
Play toys
At our beck and call
Plentiful
Cheap
Something to dull the pain
A-muse me!
Put out the fire!
Scratch the itch!
Toy doesn’t work?
Throw it out.
Plentiful
Cheap
* Commodify – to treat something that cannot be owned like a product that can be bought and sold
© Elouise Renich Fraser, 8 December 2014
Telling the Truth 
Elouise, I think the feeling of exposure is because this discussion strikes so at the meaning of being made in the Eternal One’s image. The assault and affront is upon the Divine image, so graced and free, not contained by anything made but revealed in us and in creation. It is a deep pain when the Holy Image is treated with contempt because this strikes at the heart of life, all of life, the whole of life. The Eternal One’s image is truly One, unique—essentially defying commodification! Maybe this a victorious note to counterpoint the deep sadness of what is amiss in the world? You are awakening my consciousness again for this truth and its meaning. Thank you! God bless you ~Diane
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Diane, Thank you so much for this comment. Right on target, and experientially true. Any of us treated with contempt should feel the assault. I’m also intrigued by the image of commodification defied (not deified!).
Elouise
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If I didn’t experience it, I’m not at all sure I would be great-hearted enough to give it much thought. But if I didn’t believe that there is truth about the anguish in addition to feeling it, then I might despair of the power of the experience relative to the power of redemptive love! And I’m reminded that men are also commodified in the world, body and soul. I liked your turn of defied into NOT deified—poetry trumps all 🙂 Thank you again for telling your story and provoking my own sensibilities, which took up discussion instead of storytelling. What can I say… still cerebral after all these years. ~DV
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Diane, I love this! Yes, you’re still you, though probably not quite as cerebral as you think! Nonetheless, I appreciate your comment regarding our anguish and the power of that experience “relative to the power of redemptive love.” And yes, men are in this right there along with all of us women!
Elouise
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Elouise, I think the exposure probably brings it all back again. It did for me just reading about your experience. We were violated by a culture of silence and shame. None of us talked about it. It’s a process – and please know that many of us share your experience and have our own horror stories.
Thank you for speaking up and speaking out about it. You need some time to heal. Give yourself that.
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Susan, Thanks for this comment. My hope is that more of us will be able to tell our stories as part of the healing process. For me, it’s a way of inviting people to know me as I am, not as they think I am. It’s also a way of inviting readers to remember and reflect on their own stories. I’ve always appreciated authors and speakers willing to do that. Your opening comment is right on target–exposure inevitably brings back some of the feelings. At least it does for me!
Elouise
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