Ladies, please do not get angry at me.   I am one of you.  I truly believe that every woman should have all the power she needs to be who she wants to be, do what she wants to do, and wear what she wants to wear without negative consequences.  But this is the real world, and there are lots of evil people everywhere seeking to exploit every opportunity that comes their way.

I just watched a TV show in which an 18 year old woman was kidnapped and raped and killed.  She was walking to the grocery store near her apartment and back to her apartment with a bag of groceries in broad daylight.  She was dressed in flip-flops, extra short shorts, and a sports bra.  A predator stalked her and kidnapped her.  Just so you know, I talk to the TV.  So I said, “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?”  OK, I said it very loud.    Before I go any further, I grieve for her family and her friends and for the future she is never going to have.  She did not deserve to be raped and murdered.  I know that our culture tells us that we need to be sexy.  I have news for you.  We don’t have to TRY to be sexy.  We ARE sexy.  We could cover up from our necks to our toes, and Mr. Right will think we are sexy.

My first line of defense is:  Don’t be there.  Don’t be in a bad neighborhood at night alone.  Don’t dress in a way that will attract the wrong kind of attention.  Don’t do anything that will impair my ability to defend myself.  We all have brains, and we should not be shy about using them.  Our brains are sexy.  Our brains are our best defense.  We are not stronger than an attacker, so we have to be smarter than them.  And we are.  All we have to do is use the brains God gave us.  I know that no matter how well we prepare, we might be caught off guard.  But if we are good stewards of our lives, and who else cares about us as much as we do, then it is our responsibility to protect ourselves as much as we are able.  Think first and be true to ourselves.