Watching the Keep Sweet documentary:

[!quote] “I didn’t know what was happening to me. I couldn’t identify ‘rape’ or ‘assault.’ I didn’t even have the words for those things.”

The vocabulary we use is powerful. It establishes meaning outside of context. When we don’t have meaning outside of context, we are limited. The context itself provides the meaning. When we don’t have other points of comparison

If sexual abuse happens in the context of religious ritual and is condoned by the leaders of said religion, the context tells the victim: This is acceptable. What is happening to you is acceptable and right because it is part of your religion which is true and holy and good. If you don’t like it, there’s something wrong with you because there certainly can’t be something wrong with the religion.

When we have meaning for something, separated from the context, we can identify what it is even when the context shifts or becomes confusing. We may believe the context clues over the meaning, if they are opposed. But at least we have a starting point, a word for the opposition, a choice of some kind because by having two different meanings—as defined by the vocabulary and the context—we create a choice for ourselves: What to believe? Without the opposition, there’s no choice. We have our feelings, our instincts, but we may not be able to articulate them, much less trust them over what authority figures tell us.