Friday 29 May 2009

The Revenge of Return of Second Cousin Of Rape Culture Strikes Back

In comments to the previous post, ggg_girl linked us this post on Feministing, where I made the mistake of reading the comment threads.

This has had sufficient useful results to produce one sane and reasonable post, which is going here; the ranty thing will be in LfG:WoaS when I have time to write it, but for now I'm writing while the cookies cool enough to be packed up.

I have had a radical revelation about "rape culture".

The primary contributor to "rape culture" is the idea that people -- particularly women -- are not competent definers of their own sexuality. That they 'really want it' even when they don't, or that they only need to be instructed to become fully sexual in the manner their instructor desires, or that their decisions about sexuality in one set of circumstances mandate that they make the same decision in different circumstances.

See the blatant rape apologist in the comments here suggesting that a woman's participation in a threesome means that any random guy can come join in. (h/t Cheshire) Rape culture.

See any number of discussions about whether "date rape" is really rape, about whether "she was wearing that outfit" is really consent, about whether someone is to blame for their assault because they didn't jump out of a car in a strange neighborhood, etc. Rape culture.

"The porn made him do it", "Men are all just naturally rapists", and similar matters -- also rape culture, and rape apologism, removing responsibility for the choice to rape from the perpetrators.

"It only shows how far the patriarchy has gone in making women internalise self-hatred simply for being born in a certain body" -- a quote from becstar in that thread -- ... also rape culture. Definitionally declaring kinky women not competent to defind their sexuality.

Discuss.

9 comments:

Trinity said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Hope said...

"The primary contributor to "rape culture" is the idea that people -- particularly women -- are not competent definers of their own sexuality."

Yes, this.

The idea that women (or anyone really) are incapable of sexual autonomy is just as dangerous whether it comes from people who want to do harm or from those who are trying to protect.

ggg_girl said...

My comments on rape culture in response form here:

http://community.feministing.com/2009/05/roller-coaster-rides.html#comment-261959

Clarisse Thorn said...

Have you read Yes Means Yes? If not, I really recommend it.

Pharaoh Katt said...

I really don't understand some people. How can she possibly write what she writes and then get shocked when people respond angrily? Does not compute!

That comment thread is truly upsetting. I'm just glad she's been banned.

Anonymous said...

The idea that gw2 goldfemales (or any person truly) tend to be unfit to be sexual independence can be just as harmful if it emanates from folks who might like to do harm or through gw2 goldthose who are seeking to defend.

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