Young YouTuber Anna Akana explains in her “How Not to Get Raped” video that she’s “so fucking tired” of being told what she can do to thwart attacks, because we should be telling men to stop raping.  But take it from us, Anna, we are WAY older than you and we are really very so fucking tired. . .  of waiting for men to change.  (See video below for a dramatization of our getting older and older as we wait for men to change.)

We took birth control, and considered our ability to control our fertility a relatively empowering thing. We did not say it should be up to men to prevent pregnancy.  We also learned to swim. We did not say it should be up to lifeguards to keep us from drowning.

And, as we have said before, it’s not either/or.  We believe men can change, and people can change, and culture can change.  That being said, we can play an active role in those changes, and empowering ourselves to enforce boundaries if someone challenges them.