The Importance Of Understanding The Autonomy Of The Body And Its Limitations In Interacting

Illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - The harassment experienced by vocational school students in Bolaang Mongondow Regency, North Sulawesi is not without cause. Psychologist Rose Mini Agoes Salim assesses that harassment is usually done by parties who feel they have power towards others.

Therefore it is important to instill an understanding of the concept of autonomy of the body - power over one's own body - from an early age, and must provide awareness of the boundaries of interaction.

The basic thing that needs to be understood is that every human being has autonomous rights over his own body. As explained by Gabriella Devi Benedicta in the Dynamics of Autonomy of the Women's Body: Between Power and Negotiation over the Body, published by the Center for Sociology Studies, FISIP UI (2011) explains, in the context of women, body autonomy is a continuous systematic effort of every woman to want and be able to make her body. itself autonomous. "Whole from the occupation of anyone and any party and in the eyes of anyone," wrote Benedicta citing Harper (2012).

Autonomy over the female body, said Benedicta, is always connected with power. A woman is said to have autonomy over her own body when she can exercise control over her body.

The relationship between men and women is a long and lasting theme. In fact, the conflict between the relations between the two sexes has been going on since 6,000 years ago. According to Linda Meilinawati and Baban Banita in Women in the Power of Patriarchy (2009) the problem becomes even thicker when there is an imbalance in this relationship where there is a subordinate relationship.

Illustration (Pixabay)

The emergence of inequality in the relationship between men and women is a reference for feminist currents. This is what is still being fought for today. One of the streams of feminism that voices the importance of body autonomy is radical feminists - fundamentals.

According to Meilinawati and Banita (2009), what is emphasized by radical feminists is that oppression all starts through the domination of women's sexuality that is found in the private sphere. Therefore, based on this, the radical feminist struggle is to carry out the process of raising awareness of women about their ownership of their bodies.

The reason is, according to this understanding, most women are not aware of it and feel foreign to their own bodies. In line with Psychologist Rose Mini who said that harassment was carried out by parties who had power, radical feminist analysis also said that oppression of women occurs through male sexual power coupled with men's efforts to control women's bodies.

Although difficult, the way to destroy this patriarchal culture is not impossible. Meilinawati et al believe that the gender or sex system which is the root of oppression against women can be destroyed by creating a new society where women and men are equal in their existence. The trick is to understand androgynous in it, namely understanding the division of the same roles in masculine and feminine characters at the same time.

Interaction restrictions

Returning to the case of abuse against vocational high school students in North Sulawesi, the suspects have indeed been investigated and convicted. The suspects have been charged under Article 82 of Law Number 35 Year 2014 with the threat of a minimum sentence of 5 years, a maximum of 15 years in prison. However, this cannot be repeated. They must understand the boundaries.

The reason for the suspect's collective harassment was because they were just kidding. Even though it is important for them to know, everyone has their own privacy space.

In science that studies the use of a person's space or proxemics, there is what is called personal space. As Richard West and Lynn H. Turner explain in their book Introducing Communication Theory: Analysis and Application (2007) personal space can be interpreted as an invisible and changeable space that surrounds someone, which shows the distance that a person chooses to take against people. other.

Research in the book explains that they believe humans have a desire to be close to other people, but also want a certain distance. In short, as written in the book, there are four proxemic zones, namely intimate, personal, social and public.

The intimate distance zone includes behavior that is between 0 and 18 inches (46 centimeters) away. Behavior at this distance varies from touching (for example, having sex) to observing the shape of a person's face.

This distance if done without people's consent or accidentally can make people feel uncomfortable. Therefore, it is very important to remember that invasion of personal space can be considered sexual harassment, regardless of its real purpose. For this reason, we must remain sensitive to various perceptions of intimate distance.

Illustration (Pixabay)

Then there is personal distance. This zone covers behavior that occurs over an area that is 18 inches (46 centimeters) to 4 feet (1.2 meters) apart. Behavior at this distance includes holding hands to keep someone at arm's length from someone.

Personal distance is often used for family and friends. While the farthest point, 4 feet, is usually used for less personal relationships.

Then there is social distancing (1.2-3.6 meters) which is usually done between colleagues. And the public distance is more than 3.6 meters. Public distancing is usually used for formal discussions, for example in class discussions between teachers and students.