Mild Manifestations of Violence

Moreover, women are conditioned to pretend not to hear/see the constant and violent bombardments of obscenity, for we have been taught the lesson that since verbal violence is a “substitute” for physical assault, we should be grateful for such seemingly mild manifestations of misogynism. (1) Thus, spooking from the locker room, the unacknowledged noise of omnipresent male obscenities, constitutes the “background music” which continually confuses and fragments consciousness. Exorcising this invasive presence requires acknowledging its existence and refusing to shuffle. This has the effect of bringing the spookers out into the open. Exorcism requires naming this environment of spirit/mind rape, refusing to be receptacles for semantic semen. As we become experienced in detecting the patterns of this apparently passive aggression, we become aware of its more sophisticated forms.

~Mary Daly,  GYN/ECOLOGY