By Natasha Forsberg

In the light of the Chris Brown and Rihanna incident, I have heard many comments and conversations about it at my school.  And a lot of them have been about how Rihanna "had it coming" or "deserved it."  As a teenager, I'm dumbstruck that my generation thinks that it's okay for a woman to be beaten.  What makes me more angry is that most of the people who say this are girls.  I can't believe my own gender believes that it's perfectly acceptable to get horribly beaten if they "did something wrong."  Interested on this train of thought, I did some research.  A recent survey in Boston concluded that 46% of teenagers said that Rihanna was responsible for the incident and that 52% said that the media was treating Chris Brown unfairly compared with 35% that said that the media is treating Rihanna unfairly.  The survey also observed that an equal amount of males and females accused Rihanna of destroying Chris Brown's career.

This information, to me, is really upsetting.  Do we really live in a world where physically assaulting your girlfriend is perfectly acceptable?  If that's the case, then I'm starting to think the civil rights movement for women didn't go anywhere.  What shocks me even more is that young women are thinking this.  It's sad that many teenage girls are ignorant when it comes to domestic violence.  Generally speaking, some girls may have a lot of experiences with domestic violence and just not know it while some may have never been exposed to it whatsoever.  Regardless of experiences, young women everywhere should know that domestic violence is not alright and that Chris Brown's actions shouldn't be justified.  What if these teens that were surveyed might have friends or family members that are going through an abusive relationship?

To be honest, I don't think this phenomenon is a backlash but more of misunderstanding.  Growing up, I hardly had any teaching or training in why domestic violence is bad, so I sort of had to form my own common sense.  I worry for other young women.  While far from a taboo, domestic violence wasn't exactly a mainstream topic until this incident with these two pop sensations.  While these opinions may reflect on America's ignorance, I hope, as a female, that this incident will teach young girls like me that abuse is NOT okay and that if it's happening to you or someone you love, you should stand up.