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All posts in Rape Culture
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[Trigger warning for sexual violence, victim-blaming, and rape apologia.]There is an awful story in the New York Times today: Vicious Assault Shakes Texas Town. It’s about the arrest of 18 boys and men, ranging in age “from middle schoolers to a 27-year-old,” for the gang-rape of an 11-year-old girl.
As horrible as this story is, the article serves as a great example of exactly what we mean by “rape culture.”
Check out the entire blog post on Shakesville here.
Last semester at least three women reported being groped while on The University of British Columbia campus. Almost predictably the message from police was for us ladies to watch ourselves and make sure we took the proper steps to avoid being the next target. I didn’t hear police warning men to stop assaulting women.
Then a few weeks ago I came across some signs near the university library giving tips to the campus gropers on how to keep getting away with violating women. Slightly puzzled by their intended meaning I tried sleuthing for the person or people who posted them. No one came forward, but my hunch is whoever put them up was using a sort of dark humour to slam the victim blaming discourses travelling through the university. I’m not sure how effective the signs were in offsetting the standard narrative of putting the responsibility on women after assaults take place. But, they definitely made me smile because I thought, “Hey, I’m not the only one who is fed up here!”
In case you have trouble reading the above sign it says:
ATTENTION GROPERSBased on recent incidents of men groping women on campus, the public has become increasingly concerned with risky groper behaviour. We have compiled a series of tips we think would help you.
TIP #1:
Frame your entire day, every day, around your gropingIf you are constantly brainstorming opportunities to grope, noting campus areas amenable to groping, and looking over your shoulder to avoid being caught groping, you can enjoy a life full of groping with impunity.
Hey Women,
Tired of making your life revolve around them? We are too.
Yes. This is a real headline. A Manitoba judge ruled last week that a rapist won’t go to jail because “sex was in the air.” From The National Post:
Rhodes and a friend met the 26-year-old woman and her girlfriend earlier that night outside of a bar under what the judge called “inviting circumstances.” Judge Dewar specifically noted the women were wearing tube tops with no bra, high heels and plenty of makeup.“They made their intentions publicly known that they wanted to party,” said the judge. He noted the women spoke of going swimming in a nearby lake that night “notwithstanding the fact neither of them had a bathing suit.”
…This is a different case than one where there is no perceived invitation,” he said. “This is a case of misunderstood signals and inconsiderate behaviour.”
Judge Dewar said he didn’t want to be seen as blaming the victim, but that all of the factors surrounding the case must be viewed to assess “moral blameworthiness.”
Apparently this “moral blameworthiness” has everything to do with wearing tube tops and plenty of makeup, and alluding to skinny dipping. Because “sex in the air” always means “inevitable sex.” Right.
Yet another case of “she was asking it,” folks! I’m sure she’ll really appreciate her rapist’s apology letter when it arrives in the mail.
Ed note: This article from the CBC follows up on the situation; complaints against Dewar are being formally reviewed. Right on!
Yet another incredibly offensive piece of racism and xenophobia was recently featured in a Canadian publication. And it wasn’t Maclean’s!
The article is called “Cultural Violence Can’t be Talked into Disappearing,” authored by Adrian MacNair and published in the National Post. In the piece, MacNair criticizes the federal government’s decision to financially support communities who seek to end gender-based violence. This is in itself reprehensible, considering the cuts to women’s organizations across the nation since Stephen Harper was voted in. But what makes this already racist and xenophobic point of view even more disgusting is the colonial paternalism displayed by MacNair. The whole article is rife with a fear-mongering superiority complex that would make Bill O’Reilly proud.
Warning: This post is a minefield of triggers and anger-inducing facts, ideas, and links.
I get told to shut up a lot. It isn’t always said with the words “shut up.” Sometimes it’s said in statements like “You’re too negative” or “You’re too passionate” or “You should just stop thinking about that.” I most often get told to shut up, in one way or another, when I’m “on about the rape culture.”
I’ve coped with this by forcing myself to do some positive thinking. A few days pass during which I feel awesome. I have these kinds of days when I encase myself in a liberal, pro-choice, activist bubble. I start getting hopeful, knowing that things are changing. Slowly, but surely.
But most days, when I step outside my bubble, I’m just angry. I’ll smile and share cute animals, sure, but I am almost always angry. Angry that we still live in rape culture and angry that it is still so misunderstood and overlooked. And in the past two weeks, very little has eased my rage. So, what’s the point in fighting what I consider to be totally justifiable anger? There’s certainly no shortage of beliefs to be angry about. Here are some examples.
The last time I wrote about the Assange case, I addressed media’s inability to separate the allegations against him and the work of WikiLeaks. I argued that while Assange has done good things (WikiLeaks), it is entirely possible that he is capable of not-so-good things (like rape). It was this reductionist thinking - and of course, the endless victim-blaming and fanatical apologism - that was bothering me the most about how the allegations are being discussed.
This time, I want to talk about Naomi Wolf. Remember her? She wrote The Beauty Myth and Promiscuities, establishing herself as a strong feminist and progressive leader. Today, she published an article calling for an end to the anonymity of sex-crime accusers. According to Wolf, “shielding rape accusers” is a “relic from the Victorian era,” in which raped women were considered “damaged goods.”
Julian Assange, founder of whistle-blowing WikiLeaks, has been the subject of global controversy after his website released 1500 secret U.S. diplomatic cables to the public, igniting the rage of U.S. government, and media and earning praise from progressives arguing for transparency and truth.
After the cables were released, it was reported that Assange had been accused of sexual assault by two different women. On August 31, Mashable reported that Swedish authorities had withdrawn their warrant for Assange, who had fled the country and escaped charges. Last week, Assange was arrested by Interpol on these same charges.
In the meantime, as Jaclyn Friedman wrote, “pundits right, left, and center got busy painting the accusations as frivolous and the accusers as lying, scheming sluts.” You know, what usually happens when a woman reports being raped by a powerful man. Assange is being defended by prominent lefties like Michael Moore, who even contributed $20,000 to Assange’s bail and encouraged others to “…not be naive about how the government works when it decides to go after its prey. Please — never, ever believe the ‘official story.’” Or in other words, “don’t believe these women.”
Assange’s defenders rely on the importance of WikiLeaks to clear his name, while many calling for serious inquiry into the charges against him are accused of siding with government control and secrecy. What we’re seeing here is profound reductionism and black-and-white thinking. While there’s no doubt in my mind that Assange’s arrest was a political move, I think it is crucial to acknowledge that WikiLeaks is much more than its founder. And while thorough criticism and exposing of government activity is important, so is serious inquiry into allegations of rape.
Today, Assange was released on bail, thanking “members of the press who were not all taken in and considered to look deeper in their work.” I can only hope that these “members of the press” continue to look deeper into the allegations made against Assange and stop dismissing them.
Must-reads:
#MooreandMe: On Progressives, Rape Apologism, and the Little Guy - Sady Doyle, Tiger Beatdown
Misogyny and the Backlash Against Assange’s Accusers - A collection of posts compiled by Feminist Frequency
What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape - Jaclyn Friedman
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