Allow me to coin a term: macro-grooming.* It has existed in my brain for well over a year, and I am finally putting it down in writing so I can flesh it out and offer it up.
MACRO-GROOMING: (a) the large-scale and intentional preparing of human beings through enculturation to be the perpetrators and victims of sexual assault, harassment, objectification, and gender-based violence; (b) occurs in dynamic relational co-dependence with media and entertaiment; (c) fueled by gender stereotypes and patriarchal norms as communicated through cultural and religious systems; (d) compounded by racism, classism, heterosexism, ageism, and ableism
For example, macro-grooming can easily be observed by simply listening to any number of popular songs from a variety of genres over the years. Let's take, Maroon 5's song "Animals" to make my point (see lyrical excerpt below). In this song the male is likened to an animal predator who stalks his prey. The female is depicted as an animal in heat (ready to be bred) who does not want to be caught, but who cannot escape from the male predator's sexual stalking. He devours her. Enough said. "Baby I'm preying on you tonight Hunt you down eat you alive Just like animals Animals Like animals-mals Maybe you think that you can hide I can smell your scent for miles Just like animals Animals Like animals-mals" *All part of the definition of macro-grooming are original to me (as far as I could find, no one else has used that term), but part (a) of the word macro, and part (a) of the word grooming, are both part of the mainstream dictionary usages that pop up on a Google search. Part (b) of grooming is a definition I wrote, but is not original with me; it is simply my summation of the sexual-predator nuance of the word grooming.
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Valerie GeerWriter. Women's activist. Theologian. Providing authentic reflections from a female perspective. Archives
March 2016
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