Sexual Harassment In The Dominican Republic Essay

Sexual Harassment in the Dominican Republic
In the Dominican Republic men have always been superior than women. The problem stems from the belief that misogyny and subjugation of women is just part of the culture. I grew up in a family where men were in charge, and women were still seen as the traditional domestic care providers, who pertain at home and not in the workplace. As a child, I failed to understand the importance of standing up against sexual discrimination. For example, my father would provide more liberty both economically and in terms of outings to my brother than myself just because he was a boy. My sister and I were put in ballet classes, an extracurricular activity fit for females, while my brother was taught karate lessons. My teen years, however, changed the way I perceived sexual discrimination. Suddenly, I realized how

I was fourteen years old and my friends and I went to an arcade at a Santo Domingo popular mall. While I played Time Crisis, a game in which two agents have to complete missions by shooting the enemy, a man came and grabbed my backside. Immediately, I turned around to face a man in his mid-twenties laughing. I looked at my friend Mario, who had watched the scene, and yelled, “Do something!” he stared at the guy and said, “No way, this guy will beat me up. Just let it go.” But I couldn’t. I couldn’t let go of the fact that this man touched me without my consent. And I couldn’t let go of the fact that I relied on men to defend myself, so I did what any other immature fourteen year old would do; I rebelled against femininity and became what a powerful Dominican male figure meant to me. I wore manly clothes, acted with arrogance, and intimidated people. I separated myself from other girls because I saw them as weak females that succumbed to sexual objectification practices. Soon, I learned that none of the attitudes I had adapted made me