Rape with a dress on, rape without a dress on, raped as children who couldn't even dress themselves- Pages Matam Now I am not someone who is deeply moved or interested by slam poetry, but after watching "Pinata" by Pages Matam, I've definitely had to rethink the impact of words and poetry. Not only is the piece brilliantly written, but it is delivered by Matam with such emotional depth and impact that makes it that much more powerful. The following blog post will analyze the most important parts of the poem.
A brief background before reading: Pages Matam is addressing a man he overheard on a bus tell a women that she was too ugly to be raped. The poem is his response to this idiotic, offensive, and disgusting statement. To the man on the bus I overheard tell a woman in conversation - presumably a friend: “you are too ugly to be raped...” While this may have not have been a legitimate conversation Matam overheard, there is no doubt that sexual assaults and rapes have now been heinously connotated to mean a "compliment". Rapes, sexual assaults, and any other violent acts directed towards women - or anyone for that mater- are violations of human rights that defy humanity's moral and ethical code. To consider rape desirable or a compliment immensely blurs the fine line that defines our humanity. "...Dear man on the bus, Tell the one in five women of this country, that they are beautiful, their four counterparts, spared torment ugly." One in five women in the Unites States will be subjected to sexual violence at some point in their life. However, her "four counterparts" will be spared because of their 'unappealing' looks. Rape is a privilege reserved for the beautiful, right? "Tell the one in three women of this world, That you will not make piñatas of their bodies. Watch morsels of them, spill greedily to the famished smiles of your ignorance Shaped like bloodthirsty children. How your words Hit repeatedly, until they broke open Like shattered papier-mache cradle How their blood flowed like candy until Hollow insides Jaws mangled into misfortune from when they tried to scream For Legs torn crucifix Loud cry of eyes muted Tell them how beautiful their silence is." Matam makes the brilliant metaphor of women compared to pinatas to stress the point of how desensitized society has become to rape and sexual assault. 1) Pinatas must be beaten in order to reveal their contents (women are also beaten and raped when thrown into dangerous, or in some cases, normal situations). 2) Pinatas, when broken open, show no resisting when spilling their contents (women are often vulnerable and helpless when being sexually assaulted, perhaps due to intoxication (which is still never an excuse for violence to occur)). 3) Pinatas spill their contents to the greedy onlookers, who devour them without hesitation (how perpetrators of rape treat their victims) "Rape with a dress on. Rape without a dress on. Raped as children, who couldn’t even dress themselves." Matam utilizes these lines to stress that rape is never a victim's fault. Clothing choice, intoxication, gender, location, etc. are unrelated factors in rape cases. He also goes on to emphasize that rape can happen to anyone, regardless of age. "Tell the depression, the post traumatic stress The unreported..." Women and girls who have been raped or sexually assaulted are forced to endure a life full of post traumatic stress, where simple things like laughter trigger disturbing flashbacks. Many experience severe depression, guilt, suicidal tendencies, post traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, etc. There are also plenty of rape cases that go unreported due to the taboo society has placed on those who choose to speak out. "Tell Mahmudiyah, A footnote in the history of crimson Iraqi sands How beautiful the military’s silence is Cloaked in how we don't ask, and they didn't tell, in the name of country." An allusion to the thousands of unreported rape and sexual assault cases that are hidden amongst those who serve in the US military. Many cases are kept secret from the American public in order to 'protect' the honor of soldiers and the military. "Tell Elizabeth Fritzl How pretty the flame of her skin was, that turned her father into a torturous moth of incest ‘til she gave birth to 7 choices she never had" Another allusion to the atrocious case of Elizabeth Fritzl, who was imprisoned by her father for 24 years and raped, beaten, and starved. The abuse was so bad that she gave birth to seven of her father's own children while in confinement. "Dear man on the bus Tell my 11th grade student, Lauren That she wanted it, her beauty had them coming. Tell my 7th grade student, Mickayla That she wanted it, her beauty had him coming. Tell my 3rd grade student, Andre That he wanted it, his beauty had him coming. Tell the 8 year old me, The God in me I loved fiercely was so gorgeous, that cousin twice my age, wanted to molest the Holy out of me, Peeled raw until I was as ugly as she was." Matam employs how frequently rape can occur and how young the victims can be. He also implies that he was personally sexually assaulted as a child. "Like a monstrous accomplice to the 97 percent that will never see jail" The horrific fact that 97% of perpetrators will never be punished. 97%. Let that sink in. https://www.rainn.org/news/97-every-100-rapists-receive-no-punishment-rainn-analysis-shows "...Dear man on the bus As these words fall out of your mouth, I pray no one finds your children beautiful enough to break open, making a decorative silent spectacle out of them." Matam ends with a powerful finish by addressing the man of the bus and wishing that none of his children will be sexually assaulted. The purpose of this line is to not only emphasize that rape can happen to anyone, but that men must teach their children and set an example that rape and sexual assault is never a compliment or desirable by women. The full poem can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/pages.matam/posts/465497106897032
2 Comments
Sarah Kouchak
6/30/2016 06:28:35 pm
This is crazy to me because although I have heard about stoning and the abuse of women in other countries, I did not know that it is still continuing today. I am half Persian - my dad grew up in Iran - so I do know about the extreme laws against women. However, it blows my mind that even today people still believe that degrading our wives and the mothers of our children is aloud and still stands.
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From Their First Breaths
6/30/2016 07:02:14 pm
Thank you Sarah for taking the time to educate yourself about this cruel practice. It's infuriating that such a violation of human rights still occurs. We recommend you checking out the devastating but vital film, The Stoning of Soraya M. , (which can be found on our resources page) to watch a first hand look at the graphic effects of stoning.
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