Part poetry, part PSA, part pure genius, Andrew Gray’s riveting riff on why men don’t respect women and how to change it will leave you speechless.
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A couple years ago, the good Lord laid a message upon my heart. And it just so happened that this particular conveyance could only be decoded in spoken word form.—So I got to work piecing the puzzle together.—A powerful poem began to emerge, one that practically wrote itself, entitled “Respect”.—The Good Lord then instructed me to shoot a video for it. “You need a visual” He said, before promising to anoint the production.—
We teach people how to treat us based on the behavior we accept from them. A woman who develops a healthy amount of self-respect will inherently earn the respect of men and her peers.—
Hi Andrew – thanks for your response. I know automatic respect for others, especially women, is not automatically afforded – you’re preaching to the choir on that one. However, it’s my opinion that if you’re going to go through the effort of creating a piece of social art that is inspiring others to change you should shoot for the moon. Why draw your “line in the sand” only halfway between what is now and where we need to be? You’re setting the bar low. Be a beacon…shine a light…blaze a path…show others the way things could be if we just… Read more »
I’ve replayed this video a few times now…and while I believe the overall message is an important one, there was something that didn’t seem quite right. As I’ve sat with these feelings, I’ve discovered what’s bothering me about this message. It’s the metamessages in this piece – illustrated by the idea that wearing mini skirts or makeup could cause a woman to be “eaten alive” or that if she respects herself all men will, in turn, respect her. These things are simply not true and more complex than the author is making them out to be. What would be truly… Read more »
@Ruby – Very compelling insights there, particularly about the significance of metamessages. I very much agree with your observations & sentiments on this one.
Thanks for the feedback Ruby and Lau_ra. A couple days ago, I asked a woman who identified as a feminist what her thoughts were. She essentially said that she was off-put by the tone But she recognized my heart was in the right place. Your interpretation of what this piece represents is interesting. I absolutely agree that Respect should be the default posture of men towards women, and vice versa. Humans towards humans, period. It should not be conditional on style of dress, makeup, sexual behavior, or any other factor. Respect should automatically be afforded a person for no other… Read more »
Women are responsible for not accepting demeaning behaviour from men, thats true. However this poem somewhat suggests that you only gain respect by acting a certain way, though respect for someone must be based on a mere fact that this someone is human being.
I would like to see a woman do the same thing for Men. IJS…
Mat, In a way, I think that’s implied in the message. It’s not that women are to be valued above men. It’s that relationships improve for everyone when both partners have healthy self-love and self-respect.