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sigelphoenix at 09:32pm on 21/01/2006 under feminism and sexism, sexual violence and harassment
sigelphoenix at 09:32pm on 21/01/2006 under feminism and sexism, sexual violence and harassmentI have a serious question for people out there.
How many of you think that a woman who wears skimpy clothing, acts flirtatious with men, goes to a party, or gets drunk is partially to blame if she gets raped? (I don't mean in a "That slut deserved what she got" kind of way, which shifts the blame from the rapist to the victim entirely. That morally repulsive viewpoint is, thankfully, only expressed by a few worthless individuals.) I mean the less blatant, yet more insidious, feeling of, "Well, she could have done this or this differently ..." On the other side of the coin, you might see a woman engaging in one of these behaviors and think that she should watch out because she's being risky. In other words, you assume that a woman bears part of the responsibility for being raped or not raped.
I'll be honest: I have. I still do, in some ways; it's something I'm working on, but it's slow going. And, sadly, I'm not alone: Amnesty International published a study this past November that showed that anywhere from a quarter to a third of people in the United Kingdom think that a woman's behavior can make her partially responsible for being raped. These behaviors include anything from flirting to having many sexual partners to "failing to say 'no' clearly." Almost a third of people answered 'yes' to that last one. A third. As if sex is not something that a woman offers, but is by default granted to a man, and it's her responsibility to say 'no' and stop him, not his to make sure she's saying 'yes.'
(Oh, and a certain percentage of respondents said that women who engaged in each of these behaviors was "totally responsible" for being raped, as you'll see if you download the full report. Misogynist pieces of shit. And yes, I'm including any women who answered this way.)
( More )
This post brought to you by avoiding my homework, reading a lot of smart people who say smart things, and being sick and damn tired of seeing victims blamed for the crimes committed against them.
Edit: I found the person who made the eloquent example about men's "uncontrollable urges." Read the original entry for an awesome deconstruction of the myth of "pussy power."
How many of you think that a woman who wears skimpy clothing, acts flirtatious with men, goes to a party, or gets drunk is partially to blame if she gets raped? (I don't mean in a "That slut deserved what she got" kind of way, which shifts the blame from the rapist to the victim entirely. That morally repulsive viewpoint is, thankfully, only expressed by a few worthless individuals.) I mean the less blatant, yet more insidious, feeling of, "Well, she could have done this or this differently ..." On the other side of the coin, you might see a woman engaging in one of these behaviors and think that she should watch out because she's being risky. In other words, you assume that a woman bears part of the responsibility for being raped or not raped.
I'll be honest: I have. I still do, in some ways; it's something I'm working on, but it's slow going. And, sadly, I'm not alone: Amnesty International published a study this past November that showed that anywhere from a quarter to a third of people in the United Kingdom think that a woman's behavior can make her partially responsible for being raped. These behaviors include anything from flirting to having many sexual partners to "failing to say 'no' clearly." Almost a third of people answered 'yes' to that last one. A third. As if sex is not something that a woman offers, but is by default granted to a man, and it's her responsibility to say 'no' and stop him, not his to make sure she's saying 'yes.'
(Oh, and a certain percentage of respondents said that women who engaged in each of these behaviors was "totally responsible" for being raped, as you'll see if you download the full report. Misogynist pieces of shit. And yes, I'm including any women who answered this way.)
( More )
This post brought to you by avoiding my homework, reading a lot of smart people who say smart things, and being sick and damn tired of seeing victims blamed for the crimes committed against them.
Edit: I found the person who made the eloquent example about men's "uncontrollable urges." Read the original entry for an awesome deconstruction of the myth of "pussy power."
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