It’s 6:00AM - the sunrise peaks over white fluffy clouds, oh so bright.
I’m walking through the park. I see mountains, a body of calm water and the downtown skyline. I hear rustling to my right and turn my head to look.
There’s a tent pitched on grass. A homeless woman steps out of it. One hand is massaging the opposite arm of her skeletal frame.
She had finished injecting herself with drugs.
I look away and keep walking. It feels like I’m invading her privacy for some reason. It’s easy to see she has a tough life. It’s hard to feel suffering so early in the morning.
I don’t blame her for self-medicating. Being homeless is a sh*tty gig. Who wouldn’t want to escape that kind of reality, day in and day out.
I wonder if she knows she is cast into an age old stereotype - drug addict, Aborginal (I think), homeless, female and invisible.
I leave the park and walk back to the loft. I check my messages. A video call scheduled for 7:00AM has been postponed. I take the moment to tidy the living room area, putting things away.
With the space orderly and in better shape, I feel better immediately. The way people feel better after exercising. When a flood of endorphins is released in the body.
You see - the average Joe, you, me and the homeless woman - we’re not so different after all. We all have strategies to make ourselves feel better.
What makes us different is the privileges in our lives. Some are born winning the genetic lottery - based on the color of our skin, the symmetry in our face, the size of our limbs and whether there’s a penis or vagina.
The rules aren’t complicated. But the consequences are.
If one is born with a small frame, Asian descent, a vagina, good looks and light skin - he/she/they will most likely have more opportunities in life. Eternal youth has its perks.
Those are the rules. Now for the consequences.
The first time I learned about Yellow Fever fetishes, I was puzzled as hell. I had no idea what everyone was talking about. I merely fake nodded when my high school peers joked and laughed.
Later when I looked it up, I was floored.
APPARENTLY - men, especially white men really really find Asian women attractive. That in itself is not the problem. Not a problem at all. THE ISSUE is that Asian women are uber sexualized over and over again. Not by choice.
Don’t believe me?
Look it up. Free porn is all over the internet. Once you select a porn site, the landing page will have many categories to choose from. Like S & M, 3Some, and Asian women.
It’s a thing - I. F*cking. Kid. You. Not.
Soft, perky, tight, docile - are some of the descriptors listed under Asian women porn. They’re hot sellers. Just ask the peeps who work at PHub and YPorn.
Data never lies. The amount of internet traffic Asian women sex videos bring in is amazing and VERY profitable.
Think Canucks 2011 Stanley Cup Finals at R Arena in downtown Vancouver. Game 7 night - that kind of traffic.
To be fair, watching porn is a very personal choice. It’s 2020. I’m no prude. Porn exist. People watch porn - I get it. Whatever floats their boat.
HAVING SAID THAT - it’s problematic when porn fantasies are brought into the office. And projected onto women by an authority figure. Female subordinates to be exact.
Despite the women’s hard work, dedication, years of service, commitment to the cause of choice and sacrifices taken to make the gawd damn job work.
A note to people in the workplace - LEAVE YOUR SICK F*CK FANTASIES OUT OF THE OFFICE. I don’t need to be made aware of your thoughts about my body. Or hear the words you and my wife in the same bloody sentence.
One more time, note that I DO NOT want to be pornified by my own f*cking boss.
Please and thanks - have a nice day.