Why not?

After closing the book, A Gesture Life left an imprint in my memory that I don't think I can ever leave behind. The beginning of the book was misleading to me because I never expected to find between those two covers the compelling story of Korean comfort women. As the plot began to describe the life of a senile Japanese man in an ordinary town, I didn't think this book would be as interesting or as honest a portrayal of Asian American experiences. I would like to say at this point that I think I was wrong.

I attribute it to my public school upbringing that I was used to hearing derogatory sexual innuendos from boys with raging hormones in middle school, and became numb when it came to hearing disrespectful comments towards women, which most people joked about for an easy laugh. This is not saying that I grew up in some sex-raged environment of public school children, but I am certain most people will agree with me that it is not uncommon for teenagers in high school to joke about prostitution and other sexual matters lightly. Not until I read this book concerning the seriousness of the Korean comfort women and their use as prostitutes have I felt so strongly against making such jokes. Perhaps it has to do with a lack of education in these matters, but the fact is people just don't take it seriously enough that we should not joke about prostitution or any other derogatory sexual natures towards women, considering what the past has shown us. Prostitution is not the answer to solve any problem, including unmet needs for soldiers in war. The emotional outcome following is not erasable and it is much more of a problem to rehabilitate women like this than to simply avoid it to begin with.

The sheer description of the coffin-like bed for the women to lie on in the book is enough to make my heart fall into my stomach. I don't think I will ever forget this image in my mind. I will not repeat it just for the sake of avoiding the painful experience over again, but hopefully all of you have read this and will keep it in mind as a lesson learned from the past that should not be repeated in the future. The simple thought of legalizing prostitution after reading this book is disgusting, while some would make the argument that those girls will do it anyways, and legalizing the service would make it safer. I would compare it to the likes of legalizing suicide--why condone something that no one should do to themselves in the first place?

I also find it interesting that I never had much of an exposure to this part of history until college. I suppose I had heard about it in passing in U.S. History, but not in as much depth as I have gotten in a university. My question is, why are schools not teaching the importance of respect for women (to both teenage boys AND girls, especially girls with low self-esteem) and the background of such prostitution in high school? After all, for those who make it to college, chances are in their favor that they will not end up on the streets, mindlessly selling their bodies or thinking that derogatory jokes of sexual nature are okay. We need to be teaching this stuff at an earlier age, where it really matters and where it will really get to the kids who may end up needing this information, not college kids who obviously have a good understanding of this concept. By ensuring a certain level of self-respect out of their students, a school would most definitely save itself from high drop out rates and contributing to kids on the streets. So, why not?