If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The idea that it would be more practical to arm every woman than to teach men about rape is depressing -- and it's insulting to men. It's an extreme manifestation of the classic "boys will be boys" mentality -- and everyone but the "boys" are responsible.
It's very popular right now to talk about bullying. But it is way past time to start talking about misogynist bullying as a separate category of abuse aimed at young girls, and as something that requires a separate cure.
Somehow, I can't imagine a world where we'd say, "You invited that robbery," or "You encouraged that break in." Yet, the fallback in cases of sexual assault seems to be that a woman's behavior is what sparked the episode. Episode, because most times it isn't even considered a crime.
"Stacy's Mom" is the family-friendly national anthem of our broadly female-objectifying mainstream everything. Products like this both reflect and create culture.
BC has threatened to take disciplinary action against a student group for establishing "Safe Sites" that provide condoms, lubricant, and information on sexual health and consent to students. There seem to be three counter-arguments to the sites that are popularly cited and continue to halt progress.
We stand today at a watershed moment. At least three moments, actually. And I believe that if we seize them all together, right now, we can advance the rights and improve the lives of all women in America.
When you get right down to it, it is pretty heartbreaking to think that we have to teach our sons not to rape and that we have to explain to them that women are their equal and are worthy of their respect -- regardless of whether those women are drunk, sober, or something in between.
As oral arguments over California Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act begin before the Supreme Court, I can't help feeling that marriage equality will soon follow indecency and rock and roll into the halls of blasé consensus.
Though there is no direct evidence of correlation to Steubenville, Rick Ross' lyric insinuates a drugging of a woman in a fashion where it can lead the listener to believe the reference is to that of date rape.
We need to establish a firm principle: the abuse of women by men will no longer be tolerated by other men. The voices of more men need to make that perfectly clear. For boys, for young athletes, and for fathers, Steubenville should become a wake-up call.
Though the media's reaction in the Steubenville rape case was without a doubt horrifying and reprehensible, in the end, it was just a symptom of a far larger problem pervading our culture.
We cannot stop rape from happening again, but we can make ourselves aware of the realities that people face and create a more just and equal society.
Theirs was really an act of post-modern rape to the extent that they sought to turn it into a media event, where their predecessors did anything to hide their acts.
I never associated rape with sports. But as an adult and "not a sports" fan, rape is all I associate with sports. Well, and I guess now Beyonce, 'cause of that blow-it-out SuperBowl performance.
We so often think about rape and sexual assault as "women's issues" and we focus on individual cases. But the facts are that boys and men have a significant role to play in stopping rape and rape culture, and it's just that, a part of our culture.
As the father of both a boy and a girl, I was particularly angered and disturbed by this story. The very fact that such things happen in a supposedly civil society is a stark reminder that we have only a tenuous hold on the well-being of our kids once they leave our sight.
Most Popular
