Rape Culture Flourishes

[deelaem]

Well, that douche-waffle Dominique Strauss-Kahn has had the charges against him dropped. Why, you might ask? Well, because the woman he raped dared to lie about something in her life, which of course means that she is available as a male fuck-toy from here on out - consent or not. More proof that you don't have to be a fundie man to have the fundie mindset.

 

As always, Twisty Faster analyzes and snarks the issue more eloquently than I could ever hope to.

 

http://blog.iblamethepatriarchy.com/2011/07/05/same-shit-different-day-part-the-second/

 

This is the kind of thing that makes me want to go postal. Sexual consent is one of the most misunderstood concepts in society. And for that, I Blame the Patriarchy.

[Austin]

I heard about this and had the same thought. A man who rapes can be scum of the earth, but it seems that if the rape victim has ever made any substantial mistakes in her life. . . well, he should be believed and she shouldn't. And all the much more so if the man is some powerful muckety-muck.

Yeah, we're not anywhere close to "arriving".

[Caxpax]

When I started hearing about this, I was begging the goddesses that it wouldn't turn into a victim-blaming free for all....and they didn't listen to me. The NYT has gotten really, really into the whole victim-blaming thing lately- I blame Ross Douchehat in part- he must have peed in the editors water cooler or something. Their coverage of DSK and the gang-rape of the eleven year old made my blood boil.

It just kills me how people don't get the fact that all women can be raped. Prostitutes are raped. Liars are raped. Thieves are raped. Crazy people are raped. Drug addicts are raped. Sweet virginal girls are raped. Mothers are raped. Old women are raped. Just because you fall into the "not socially acceptable" category doesn't mean that you can't be raped and be telling the truth. Or that if you are raped it's your fault if you aren't believed. Because you once cheated on your taxes. Or stole a pack of gum. Or cheated on your boyfriend. Or did something that the patriarchy thinks isn't ok. All this does is reinforce the fact we are absofuckinglutely living in a rape culture, which infects and permeates every aspect of our society. Until we get that through people's thick skulls we have no hope of actually achieving equality or safety as women.

ps- LOVE twisty!!

[debrand]

I don't know if Kahn is guilty or not but I'm troubled that his team dug so deeply into the victim's past. Apparently, she is an immigrant from Africa and might not even be able to read English. I wonder if the lies had to do with her legal status here.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... udhut.html

[Shirley MacLaine]

(edit) combative Twisty bothers me thread derailing, nothing to see here

[Caxpax]

shirley- twisty is not someone to be read every day if you don't want to hate the entire freaking universe, but sometimes i need my coffee black, you know? i like my feminist bloggers combative.

[Shirley MacLaine]

Oh, so do I. I don't dislike Twisty because she is combative - I think that shit's killer. I just have the personal beef as a fetishist. But that's neither here nor there with the thread, you know? So I figured I would snip my earlier bullshit.

ETA: Oh, I see. I wasn't saying 'combative Twisty' like where combative would be an adjective describing Twisty - I meant I was being combative!

[Caxpax]

hahaha- gotcha. i misunderstood how you were using the word combative./end thread highjack ;)

[LynnKaboom]

Eh, everyone has bloggers they can't stand. Personally I'd like to lock Melissa McEwan and Zsuzsu Anderson in a room for a battle royale over who can be the most obnoxious, weasely, dismissive bitch. I think it would end in a tie.

I've never heard of this Twisty character, though.

[BlackHawk]

When I started hearing about this, I was begging the goddesses that it wouldn't turn into a victim-blaming free for all....and they didn't listen to me. The NYT has gotten really, really into the whole victim-blaming thing lately- I blame Ross Douchehat in part- he must have peed in the editors water cooler or something. Their coverage of DSK and the gang-rape of the eleven year old made my blood boil.

It just kills me how people don't get the fact that all women can be raped. Prostitutes are raped. Liars are raped. Thieves are raped. Crazy people are raped. Drug addicts are raped. Sweet virginal girls are raped. Mothers are raped. Old women are raped. Just because you fall into the "not socially acceptable" category doesn't mean that you can't be raped and be telling the truth. Or that if you are raped it's your fault if you aren't believed. Because you once cheated on your taxes. Or stole a pack of gum. Or cheated on your boyfriend. Or did something that the patriarchy thinks isn't ok. All this does is reinforce the fact we are absofuckinglutely living in a rape culture, which infects and permeates every aspect of our society. Until we get that through people's thick skulls we have no hope of actually achieving equality or safety as women.

ps- LOVE twisty!!

I'm just throwing this out there.. men can be raped as well, and women can do the raping. Everyone and anyone can be raped.

[Caxpax]

blackhawk-

yes, absolutely. everyone is vulnerable to rape, and rape culture hurts everyone.

[Guest Anonymous]

It gets worse

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/0 ... ?ir=Canada

[valsa]

Does anybody know what she lied about?

I haven't been following this case at all but I thought I read somewhere, in passing, that she's lied about being raped before.

If she has, I have really mixed feelings. While I agree 100% that anybody is capable of being raped, even liars, I have to admit that I'd have a hard time believing a rape allegation from someone (male or female) who has specifically lied about being raped before.

Can someone tell if what I read is true or not?

[aerynoctober]

Does anybody know what she lied about?

I haven't been following this case at all but I thought I read somewhere, in passing, that she's lied about being raped before.

If she has, I have really mixed feelings. While I agree 100% that anybody is capable of being raped, even liars, I have to admit that I'd have a hard time believing a rape allegation from someone (male or female) who has specifically lied about being raped before.

Can someone tell if what I read is true or not?

She lied on an application for asylum in the US, saying she had been gang-raped.

[LynnKaboom]

Does anybody know what she lied about?

I haven't been following this case at all but I thought I read somewhere, in passing, that she's lied about being raped before.

If she has, I have really mixed feelings. While I agree 100% that anybody is capable of being raped, even liars, I have to admit that I'd have a hard time believing a rape allegation from someone (male or female) who has specifically lied about being raped before.

Can someone tell if what I read is true or not?

I read that she had lied about being gang-raped on her asylum application so that she could stay in the United States.

[valsa]

Eep. I hate to say it but, if that's true, then I can understand why they might not believe her accusation now (barring having physical evidence, which I don't know if they did)

I mean, I have total sympathy for anyone who gets their car stolen but if someone's already once falsely claimed to have been car jacked to collect the insurance money, I'd have trouble believing them when they say their car has been stolen for real.

[jaelh]

Eep. I hate to say it but, if that's true, then I can understand why they might not believe her accusation now (barring having physical evidence, which I don't know if they did)

I mean, I have total sympathy for anyone who gets their car stolen but if someone's already once falsely claimed to have been car jacked to collect the insurance money, I'd have trouble believing them when they say their car has been stolen for real.

Oh no - the prosecution believes her, that's not the problem.

They just don't think they could get a conviction.

The conviction rate for rape is so low, you pretty much need to be a certified virgin to play the innocent well enough. It was... ah, Marueen Dowd, I think? - who described this as similar to a case where a prostitute is raped. Pretty much impossible to convict.

Essentially, the defence would be counting on swinging "reasonable doubt" by capitalising on the view you espouse above, valsa. It's a time honoured means of ensuring a rapist avoids conviction. The prosecution has to prove there was no consent. It's very, very easy to sully the waters on that one.

And has no bearing at all on wether or not a rape took place. None. At. All.

[deelaem]

I'm just throwing this out there.. men can be raped as well, and women can do the raping. Everyone and anyone can be raped.

Oh Jesus Fucking Christ on a cracker!! If you compare the rate at which women are raped by men to the rate men are raped - especially by women, it is a fucking insult that you would even post this!

[valsa]

Jaelh, there's a huge difference between being sexually active and being someone who has lied about being raped in the past.

If someone who was very sexually active claimed she was raped, I'd have no trouble believing her. If a prostitute or a drug addict claimed she was raped, I'd have no problem believing her. However, someone who has made a false claim of rape before- yes, I'm going to have trouble believing her.

It has nothing to do with the woman's sexual history and everything to do with her history of making false accusations.

[deelaem]

Eep. I hate to say it but, if that's true, then I can understand why they might not believe her accusation now (barring having physical evidence, which I don't know if they did)

I mean, I have total sympathy for anyone who gets their car stolen but if someone's already once falsely claimed to have been car jacked to collect the insurance money, I'd have trouble believing them when they say their car has been stolen for real.

Wow, it surprises me that you believe this. We have no proof that she lied about the gang-rape. Women recant rape stories all the time because of not being believed and being persecuted. But even if she WAS lying about something, that does NOT imply that she deserves to be raped.

[valsa]

Slow your roll deelaem and re-read what I wrote-

1) I qualified it with "if she lied" about being raped

2) When the fuck did I say anyone deserves to be raped? I'd like you to actually quote me on this. Oh wait, you can't. Because you're full of shit.

[aerynoctober]

Wow, it surprises me that you believe this. We have no proof that she lied about the gang-rape. Women recant rape stories all the time because of not being believed and being persecuted. But even if she WAS lying about something, that does NOT imply that she deserves to be raped.

Where did you get "deserves to be raped" from? If you had said "deserves to be doubted," it would make sense.

[valsa]

Oh Jesus Fucking Christ on a cracker!! If you compare the rate at which women are raped by men to the rate men are raped - especially by women, it is a fucking insult that you would even post this!

Yeah! Don't you know that women being raped by men more often than vice versa totally invalidates any man who has been raped by a woman? Insult!

[deelaem]

Wow, I never would have expected rape apologists on this site. I guess the Patriarchal Kool-aid is some good shit.

[valsa]

Wow, I never would have expected rape apologists on this site. I guess the Patriarchal Kool-aid is some good shit.

Did you fall out of the stupid tree today? No one here is a rape apologist.