Imagine this:
You're walking back home with a friend from a night out. It's pretty late, and it's pitch black outside. Your friend sees a woman walking on the other side of the street, and he comments on this by saying "She's asking to get killed."
Yeah. Right.
No one ever says that. No one ever claims that people ever "ask" to be murdered. If a person did say that, people would recognize that statement as unacceptable. People would speak out.
So why on Earth is it acceptable, in our society, to claim that a woman "asks for" rape?
Recently, I saw this ad via The Curvature.
Yes, yes, yes! Exactly! Rape apologism is apart of our culture. People don't realize how stupid and hateful the things that they say are. People don't notice how inane the statement that "she's asking for it" is.
Every time I hear someone stating that a woman is "asking for it", my heart skips a beat or two. Why is rape treated as an acceptable crime? Most people will say that rape is bad. However, those same people will also make exceptions for that belief. She's wearing a short skirt? She's asking for it. Walking alone? Partially her fault. Saying that rape is bad and that you're against it doesn't mean crap when you go on to promote rape in more discreet ways. I've lost (or rather, let go) a few "friends" because of comments like these. They usually throw a fit and tell me that I'm overreacting. Tell me, how can I trust a person who openly states that women deserve or "ask for" rape? How can I put my trust in a person who is presenting him or herself as a potential rapist by promoting rape in very significant, ways? Why should I put my own health and well being in grave danger just because you're too self important to educate yourself?
Well, I won't deal with it anymore. People have to learn to clean up their act and accept the fact that the rape culture can be, and probably is, a part of them, too. We live in a rape culture. We all grew up in a rape culture. How is it that people think that they're special and have suddenly escaped the rape culture, without any effort on their part?
I wish the US had anti-rape ads like these.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
8 comments:
***PLEASE READ***
Due to constant spam and derailing coming from a few antis, I am now making this blog a "safe place". This does not mean that I won't allow opposing views. It means that I'm not longer going to allow hateful or unrelated/spammy comments. This will continue on until the anti-choice spammers get bored with harassing me and the people who post here, and is especially relevant when it comes to the topic of rape. I hope this doesn't deter any respectful people from commenting. :)
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Yeah, I have had to drop a few "friends" as well because of their anti-trans beliefs and their refusal to recognize my gender identity.
ReplyDeleteThere is no justification for rape, and yet people here act as if we were in the Islamic Middle East and that women should cover their skin from head to toe in order to avoid rape. That is absolutely unacceptable.
Thank you for the great post! Have you read "The Rape of Mr. Smith" (author anonymous)? It highlights the point you made--why is rape the only crime where the victim is questioned/villianized?
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you not just blog about this but found this ad from the UK. Can we play this in the States? of course not, that one trojan ad where men are pictured as pigs until the one goes to get a condom - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6krr40mdHM - was "too much" for US. I saw it on tv possibly once.
ReplyDeleteSimple & straight to the point ads like this are needed. And this is coming from a lesbian :)
"why is rape the only crime where the victim is questioned/villianized?"
ReplyDeleteBecause culture dictates that women (the typical victims of rape) are responsible for the sexual behavior of men.
A turd by any other name is still a turd...
ReplyDeleteThanks for writing this! It's disgusting that women still get blamed for their own rapes. The other day my roommate was lamenting some policy changes at a local music festival that she said occurred "because a bunch of women were too stupid to watch their drinks and got raped." Just goes to show feminists really need to keep talking about this and saying it's unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteThe Catholic Church in Mexico, a country where it wields more influence than in other places, censured women for wearing skimpy clothing and inviting sexual violence. Yep, according to the Church, it is the woman's fault when a man can't control himself, and I can tell you as a Latina (though not a Mexican) that this is a widely held belief in Latin America, even among women.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26295141/
The commercialization of the police to fight a profit making war on drugs, war on speeding, war on parking for an extra five minutes and whatever else they think up completely cannibalizes money and manpower for real peace officers to walk the street and protect all women of the world so that they may be free to walk in public without fear.
ReplyDelete