The Nameless Woman
Shira Tanzer
Shira Tanzer
THE NAMELESS WOMAN
Laying alone, violated, no one to come and help
Laying alone, dying or already dead
Not even a name to be remembered by
An object for men to use and discard
Not worth the investigation
Not worth writing more than a few lines about
Another discarded toy, another used doll
Not even a last name.
Sometimes just referred to as ‘it’
And when I am found
Bruises around my throat, waist, stomach.
I will become just another name
Another woman
Another girl used and thrown away
Will people even care to read the few lines they write about me
Or will I be skimmed over in search of something more interesting
What am I but a source for men’s pent-up release and a mystery for those who find me
Not safe in my home
Not safe on the road
Not safe in town
Not safe anywhere
They took my virtue, my hope, my morality
And now my name
Not only my dignity stripped, but my very identity
I decided to write a poem that focuses on women who had been raped or abused and then left unidentified in random places. Someone would eventually find them and report it to a newspaper, but since no one knew who the women were, the paper could not publish a name, so they were referred to as simply ‘the woman’ or ‘girl’. I felt it was important to focus on these unknown women and give them the recognition they did not receive after their experience. I feel that these nameless women represent the view some misguided men have that turns a woman into an object that is not even worthy of an identity. I wanted to tell these women’s stories from the point of view of a victim to put the reader in their shoes for a moment and show that not only do they have a name, they also have a legacy and they are being remembered. I found five articles that depict a woman who is unknown and had been violated and assaulted. They are located in either Arizona or New York and fall between 1905 and 1951. These women are prime examples of how sexual abuse in the past did not have any consequences and the women's situations were not taken seriously, with even their names not being worth the effort to find.
Sources:
· “Foul Work of Fiends.” Library of Congress. Arizona Republican, September 17, 1905. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84020558/1905-09-17/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1777&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=assaulted+woman&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=11&state=Arizona&date2=1963&proxtext=woman+assaulted&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=4
· “Monstrous Crime, Fiends in Uniform.” Library of Congress. Arizona Republican, August 22, 1908. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84020558/1908-08-22/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1777&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=assaulted+woman&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=9&state=Arizona&date2=1963&proxtext=woman+assaulted&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=3
· “Slain Women's Body Is Found in Thicket.” ProQuest. New York Times, May 24, 1951. https://www.proquest.com/hnpnewyorktimes/docview/112222025/4A0F414579A34260PQ/4?accountid=4485
· “Women Assaulted, Left Unconscious.” ProQuest. New York Times, August 24, 1943. https://www.proquest.com/hnpnewyorktimes/docview/106519840/55C9DDE4CA8C40F7PQ/1?accountid=4485
· “Woman Found Beaten, Strangled in Bushes at Planetarium Entrance.” ProQuest. New York Times, August 26, 1944. https://www.proquest.com/hnpnewyorktimes/docview/106820754/9426FAB69FBF4CF8PQ/22?accountid=4485