I was recently walking through the market square when I noticed a peculiar sight. There was a girl dressed up like a plastic sex toys doll, complete with overly blonded hair, large lashes and bright pink lips. I couldn’t help but stare–was this really happening in public?
At first I thought it was some kind of joke, perhaps a staged performance. Certainly, there was a small crowd of people, snapping pictures and laughing. Was she performing? I shook my head; no, that couldn’t be it. There was something more going on here.
As I watched, one man stepped forward and began to converse with the girl. It became clear that she was selling herself, in a way. I felt a wave of anger wash over me. How could this be allowed to happen? I mean, couldn’t we do something to protect this woman, sex toys to keep her safe and free from exploitation?
I stayed a while longer, watching the crowds and feeling a wave of emotion. On the one hand, I sympathized with the girl for being so vulnerable. On the other hand, it did seem wrong to paint her as a victim in this situation; she’d probably made a conscious decision to dress like this.
As I walked away, I resolved to look deeper into this story. There must be a larger context to what I’d seen, something bigger and darker that had drawn me in. All I could do was hope and pray for justice in this matter.