The Debilitating Struggle of Sexism The 1960s: a time period that highlighted some of the most influential civil rights movements, but have we really improved since then? Since the beginning of time women have been treated unfairly; they are more prone to being sexually assaulted/raped, have ridiculous beauty standards to live up to, and overall are treated like objects of submission and erotic pleasure. Like men, women deserve the ability to choose the lives they want to live and be who they want to be without fear and judgement. The novel, God Don’t Like Ugly by Mary Monroe, analyzes the objectification of women and provides insight to issues in the 60s that are still prevalent today. Rape and sexual assault plague the lives of many people, …show more content…
This profession does not and should not give men easy access to their bodies, and doesn’t at all mean they should be treated any less of a person. In the novel, both Annette and her mother were forced into the lives of prostitution after living in poverty. “Mama was on her knees with her head between Mr. Cursey’ legs. He was butt naked. ‘Shet up woman. You know you need this job, and you and your monkey need a place to stay,’ he told her” (Monroe 25). In Annette’s case she prostituted after years of being sexual abused; this furthered her hatred for men and for sex, but she needed a way to survive. “More and more I had despised what I had become. I was selling the very thing that made most of my life miserable, sex….It took me two months of prostituting myself to save enough money to leave home” (Monroe 247). More often than not, many prostitutes don’t choose this line of work for no reason, many are forced into this lifestyle just to provide for themselves and family. A 2015 article further explains, “Poverty is the primary driving force behind women becoming prostitutes…. Throughout the world there are limited and extremely scarce opportunities for women who are uneducated and impoverished….There is no requirement for being a sex worker. It requires no education, no references and no experience.” The objectification of women has lead to sexual abuse, self esteem issues, and judgement based on their eroticism. The understanding