Empowered Spirit Self-Protection

A recent study has confirmed what every woman instinctively knows: men and women experience the simple act of walking through the world in fundamentally different ways -- with women performing an invisible, automatic threat assessment that begins the moment they step outside alone.

Researchers at Brigham Young University showed nearly 600 college students photographs of campus walking paths at four Utah universities and asked them to click on the areas that stood out most as they imagined walking through those spaces alone. They turned the responses into heat maps -- and the differences were stark.

Men looked at the path ahead. The destination. A streetlight, a garbage can, the walkway in front of them. Women scanned the periphery -- the bushes, the dark corners, the spaces alongside the path where someone could be hiding. As lead researcher Robert Chaney put it, they "expected to see some differences, but we didn't expect to see them so contrasting. It's really visually striking."

The gap widened dramatically at night and in what the researchers call "high-entrapment" settings -- narrow bridges, walled paths, spaces where escape would be difficult. In those conditions, the heat maps were so structurally different that the two groups were essentially looking at entirely different environments.

And there is good reason for that vigilance. Women aged 18-24 are four times more likely to experience s*xual violence than women of other age groups. Among college women, there are two s*xual assaults for every one robbery -- a complete inversion of the ratio in the general population. That scanning isn't paranoia. It's pattern recognition built on a lifetime of lived experience.

But the study reveals something beyond individual behavior -- it reveals who our shared spaces are built for. Those walkways, bridges, and campus paths were designed by people who see space the way the men in this study do: eyes forward, focused on the destination. A narrow walled bridge with a single light at the end works fine for the person who looks straight ahead. It doesn't work for the person whose eyes go immediately to the dark edges on either side.

It's not that anyone set out to make public spaces feel unsafe for women. It's that many of the people making design decisions rarely had to scan for danger themselves -- so they never thought to design for those who do. The threat isn't just in the shadows. It's in the fact that no one considered the shadows at all.

Co-author Alyssa Baer said her hope is that having concrete data will start conversations that lead to meaningful action in designing safer spaces. Chaney went further: "Why can't we live in a world where women don't have to think about these things?"

--> We want to hear your thoughts. Do these findings match your own experience? What do you do when you're walking alone at night -- and have you ever tried to explain it to someone who didn't understand? What do you notice that the men in your life don't?

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For a groundbreaking look at how a world built on male-default data -- from urban planning to medicine to car safety -- systematically disadvantages women, we highly recommend "Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men" for ages 14 and up at https://bookshop.org/a/8011/9781419735219 (Bookshop) and https://amzn.to/2Qzqg8H (Amazon)

Urban design isn't the only area where s*xist bias affects research; for two excellent books for adult readers about how medical systems often fail women, we recommend the new "Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World" (https://www.amightygirl.com/unwell-women) and "Ask Me About My Uterus: A Quest to Make Doctor's Believe in Women's Pain" (https://www.amightygirl.com/ask-me-about-my-uterus)

To read the full study, "Gender-Based Heat Map Images of Campus Walking Settings: A Reflection of Lived Experience," published in the journal Violence and Gender, visit https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10951437/

To read BYU's coverage of the study, including additional heat map images, visit https://news.byu.edu/intellect/study-visually-captures-hard-truth-walking-home-at-night-is-not-the-same-for-women

This is Dolores Huerta, a comrade of Cesar Chavez.
And I think the work they built, the s*xism within it, and Huerta’s recent revelations should be your next rabbit hole.

Let’s talk about how one of the most celebrated labor movements in U.S. history is now being reexamined through a fuller, more complicated truth.

✴️ Dolores Huerta co founded the United Farm Workers alongside Cesar Chavez in the 1960s. She was not an assistant or supporting figure. She was a strategist, organizer, and negotiator who played a central role in securing labor contracts, organizing boycotts, and shaping the direction of the movement. Much of the movement’s success was built on her work.

✴️ Despite this, Cesar Chavez was elevated as the singular face of the movement. He became a national icon of nonviolence and farmworker rights, while Huerta’s contributions were minimized or sidelined in media coverage, public recognition, and historical narratives. The story was simplified into one man leading a movement that was actually built by many, including women whose labor was essential.

✴️ In recent years, Huerta and other organizers have spoken more openly about internal dynamics within the movement. Accounts from former members and historians describe Chavez as controlling and resistant to dissent, with a leadership style that prioritized loyalty over collaboration. Women in the movement, including Huerta, faced dismissal, marginalization, and s*xism even as they carried significant responsibility.

✴️ In March 2026, Huerta broke more than 60 years of silence. She publicly stated that Chavez r***d her in the 1960s. She described one encounter where she was pressured into s*x within a clear power imbalance, and another where she said she was forced against her will. She also revealed that these encounters resulted in pregnancies that she kept secret to protect the movement.

✴️ Her statement came alongside broader reporting that Chavez allegedly abused other women and minors. These accounts describe a pattern of power, silence, and protection that had circulated privately for decades but was never fully confronted. The revelations have forced a reevaluation of Chavez’s legacy and the culture within the movement he led.

Why I think this is important:

This is not just about one man’s behavior. It is about how movements operate when power is concentrated and protected.

Dolores Huerta helped build a movement that fought for dignity, labor rights, and justice. At the same time, she experienced s*xism, marginalization, and, as she has now revealed, s*xual violence from within that same movement. Both of those truths exist concurrently.

Her story exposes a pattern that extends beyond one organization (sound familiar Black Panther Party?). Movements that challenge injustice externally can still reproduce inequality internally. Male leadership is often protected. Women’s labor is often minimized. Then, when harm occurs, silence is framed as necessary for the “greater good”.

Huerta remained silent because speaking out would have threatened the movement she helped build. That is how s*xism, misogyny, and r**e culture sustains itself inside spaces that claim to fight oppression. Women are expected to absorb harm so progress can carry on.

The reevaluation of Cesar Chavez is not about erasing history. It is about telling it honestly and fully. It is about recognizing that movements are made of people, and people can do both transformative and harmful things. Legacies are living things that can do harm long after the human is gone.

Dolores Huerta’s voice reframes the story.

That is why Dolores Huerta, Cesar Chavez, and the full truth of their movement is your next rabbit hole.

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To many women, the misogyny, the victim blaming, is enragingly familiar. LizBeth Cone's poem "What She Had Coming" below names exactly what we're seeing.

Yesterday, Trump didn't bother repeating the lie that Renee Nicole Good tried to run over an ICE agent -- a claim contradicted by abundant video evidence. When asked whether agent Jonathan Ross needed to use "deadly force" when he killed her, Trump simply offered this justification: "The woman and her friend were highly disrespectful of law enforcement."

"Disrespectful."

As if rudeness justified a bullet to the head. As if Ross' last words after he shot her -- "fcking b**h" -- were a eulogy.

Twenty-six seconds after Renee Good said to Ross, "That's fine, dude. I'm not mad at you," he murdered her. The excuses began immediately. The administration, right-wing media, and their sycophants cycled through every tired justification in the victim-blaming playbook: she shouldn't have been there, she should have been with her child, she was obstructing traffic, she smiled at the agent, her wife was rude.

When the standard excuses weren't enough, they manufactured new ones -- amplifying a single bot account's false claim that Renee and her wife abused their child. They never stopped to ask if it was real. They didn't need it to be real. They needed her to deserve it.

This is the same script used whenever a woman is harmed: search for what she did wrong, how she provoked it, why she had it coming. The word "bitch" is weaponized, used as a cudgel. As Cone writes, "That word does the work. / It erases the blood. / It makes the violence reasonable. / It turns a life into a warning." Cone's full poem says the rest.

"What She Had Coming"
By LizBeth Cone

"They tell us early
that harm is instructional.
That pain is a lesson.
That if something happens to you
you should study yourself
for the mistake.
You were too loud.
Too quiet.
Too young.
Too old.
Too soft to be respected,
too sharp to be tolerated.
They rehearse it everywhere—
in jokes, in sermons, in courtrooms,
in the casual shrug of boys will be boys,
in the long list of reasons
a man is never responsible
for what his hands decide.
They say:
Men have urges.
Men have instincts.
Men lose control.
But women?
Women provoke.
Women tempt.
Women fail to comply.
So when a man kills a woman
they reach for explanations like blankets—
What was she wearing?
Why was she there?
Did she smile?
Did she say no clearly enough?
Did she forgive him fast enough?
They say she wasn’t perfect.
As if perfection were armor.
As if innocence were real.
As if survival were a moral achievement.
Call her a bitch.
That word does the work.
It erases the blood.
It makes the violence reasonable.
It turns a life into a warning.
This is old.
Older than laws.
Older than names.
Eve blamed for hunger.
Women blamed for loneliness,
for rage,
for declining population,
for male despair,
for their own deaths.
Power says:
You are safe only while you submit.
Only while you soothe.
Only while you stay grateful.
Only while you are useful.
The moment you resist,
question,
block,
exist inconveniently—
you become expendable.
And still they ask why we are afraid.
Still they call it hysteria.
Still they say it was inevitable.
But listen—
what’s inevitable is not violence.
What’s inevitable is the lie
that men are entitled to control
and women are expected to absorb the cost.
We have been taught
to carry abuse
like a birthright.
To forgive our own erasure.
To die politely.
And we are done pretending
this is natural"

-----

Renee's voice has been silenced. Yours has not.

Demand accountability. Contact your elected officials at (202) 224-3121. Demand they support a fair and impartial investigation into Renee's killing -- and cosponsor the articles of impeachment that have been filed against Kristi Noem.

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For books for children and teens about the importance of standing up for truth, decency, and justice, even in dark times, visit our blog post, "Dissent Is Patriotic: 50 Books About Women Who Fought for Change," at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=14364

For books for tweens and teens about girls living under real-life authoritarian regimes throughout history that will help them appreciate how precious democracy truly is, visit our blog post "The Fragility of Freedom: Mighty Girl Books About Life Under Authoritarianism" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=32426

To stay connected with A Mighty Girl, you can sign-up for A Mighty Girl's free email newsletter at https://www.amightygirl.com/forms/newsletter

Quote credit: Kelly - Bluesky /

This is very confusing. When the good days come, we often try to forget the bad ones. This can keep us stuck for a long time. https://carolineabbott.com/2012/06/how-do-you-know-when-you-are-being-abused-2/

What is gaslighting? Gaslighting is when your emotions, words, and experiences are twisted and used against you, causing you to question your reality and sanity. This can be a very effective form of emotional abuse and control.

Take a deeper look into gaslighting: https://bit.ly/4mfj4aC

Today's A Mighty Girl Community Pick: "Consent (For Kids!): Boundaries, Respect, and Being in Charge of YOU." When Rachel Brian co-created the viral "Tea Consent" video, parents wanted a way to explain the same idea to their kids -- so she wrote this playful, accessible guide to consent and bodily autonomy for kids! In eight short chapters packed with illustrations, Brian talks about body autonomy, what boundaries are and how to set them, and how to respect other people's boundaries, as well as what to do if someone makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe and how to identify red flag relationship behaviors like abuse of power or inappropriate grooming. She also reminds kids to practice talking about and asking for consent in their own interactions: "CONSENT TAKES PRACTICE. The more that people around you practice consent, the more natural it is for everyone." This timely and empowering book is the perfect way to talk to kids about the importance of consent and body autonomy. Highly recommended for ages 6 to 10.

"Consent (For Kids!)" is available at https://www.amightygirl.com/consent-for-kids

To start teaching children -- girls and boys alike -- from a young age about the need to respect others and their personal boundaries, we also recommend "Let's Talk About Body Boundaries, Consent, and Respect" for ages 4 to 7 at https://www.amightygirl.com/body-boundaries

For a powerful book that explores the common problem of s*xual harassment in middle school, we highly recommend "Maybe He Just Likes You" for ages 10 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/maybe-he-just-likes-you

There is also a helpful guide for teens on topics such as consent and setting boundaries: "Real Talk About S*x and Consent: What Every Teen Needs to Know," for ages 13 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/real-talk-about-s*x-and-consent

For more books for young children that establish an early foundation of respect for personal boundaries and bodily autonomy, visit our blog post "Body Smart, Body Safe: Talking with Young Children About Their Bodies" at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=11069

This is why martial arts classes (karate, jujitsu, tae kwon do, etc) are NOT ENOUGH for self-protection.

(Approx 2 minute 45 second read)

This is a follow-up to my recent article about fighting and self-defense - mainly because, based on the comments, it’s clear many people misunderstood the point. So let’s clear a few things up.

The fear of an attack can make many people want to fight back immediately. But in the real world, the best defense lies not in “fighting it out” but in cultivating other tactics. I write about this a lot.

Physical training is crucial - it’s why most of us practice some form of martial art, right? But our training should also focus on skills that help prevent violence in the first place.

Someone commented: “What you choose to do with what’s taught is the distinguishing factor on whether it’s self defense or fighting.”

Another said: “I thought fighting is self defense.…”

And someone else added: “You need to learn BJJ or MMA for self-defense.”

Let me get this straight, in the simplest terms: if you're only taught how to fight, it’s not self-defense - no matter how you spin it.

Without awareness, escape, de-escalation, protecting others, and medical or legal context, you're not preparing people to survive. You're preparing them to fight. There’s a big difference.

Escape strategies are just as important as any fighting technique. Knowing how to remove yourself - and others - from danger is every bit as essential as honing your strikes, locks, or throws.

In the dojo, it’s easy to feel safe. Training is fun, enjoyable, often low-pressure - but sometimes lacking in realism. That can be dangerous if it leads to false confidence.

It’s also important to understand the wider consequences of getting involved in a physical altercation - medical, legal - there’s always more at stake.

The problem comes when people adopt a fighter’s mentality in a situation that calls for survival, not a scrap. I know instructors who teach fighting first and call it self-defense - no, it isn’t.

True self-defense training should prepare you to manage danger, not just trade punches. The goal is your safety - not “winning” a street fight.

This distinction is often missed. True self-defense and a street fight are not the same. If you’re standing toe-to-toe with your guard up, waiting for it to start - that’s a fight. You don’t want that. It doesn’t matter what the style or method is.

We all learn - and some of us teach - many aspects of how to fight. But you must understand it’s a last resort. It’s not consensual like it is in the dojo - we don’t agree to it. That’s something many don’t fully grasp.

We study kata, analyze bunkai, create applications, and drill with partners - why? Not to fight for the sake of it, but to protect ourselves, escape, and get home safely.

Yes, fighting and sparring are fun in the dojo. And competitive karate has its place - I enjoyed it in my time. Of course, you can train for those reasons alone.

But using karate as it was originally intended - to protect yourself and others - is, to me, far more rewarding.

And the great thing about this way of thinking is that you can apply it every day. Every time you walk outside, get in the car, or visit the mall. If all you know is fighting first, you’re missing so much.

Karate gives us many things. That’s where its true value lies. If you train with the mindset of survival over victory, you’ll begin to see your karate differently. The techniques are still there - but the purpose behind them becomes much clearer.

Self-defense isn’t about beating someone. It’s not about standing toe-to-toe waiting for the first punch. It’s about getting you and your loved ones home safely. Save the fighting to have some fun in the dojo.

If you still think it’s all about fighting, ask yourself - how would you protect someone who couldn’t fight at all?

It’s about time people understood the difference. It really isn’t that difficult.

Written by Adam Carter - Shuri Dojo

THIS
And if you haven’t seen the series yet, scroll to the end of the post and read “what can you do” if you have boys in this culture of gender-based violence and toxic masculinity.

Now is the time for warriors.