A 23-year old medical student was gang-raped on a public bus in Delhi, India, leading to nation-wide protests. Protesters point out the pervasive rape culture in India, such that rape is horrifyingly common and the legal consequences are few. Many protesters are hopeful about both cultural and legal reforms, using this latest incident as a means of opening a public dialogue about a troubling problem. I’m hopeful on their behalf, too. Continue Reading →
rape culture
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Indonesia: Defining Porn In Order To Ban It, Plus Mini-Skirts Cause Rape
A series of new Indonesian laws would set criteria for defining pornography in order to ban it, as well as outlaw immodest clothing for women based on the belief that women’s attire is what causes them to be targeted by rapists. I hardly know where to begin with this set of erroneous assumptions – and yes, I acknowledge that religion, specifically various sects of Islam, is important in the situation and adds a layer of complexity which I will not be able to fully address here. However, I bring up this news story in order to educate our American readership about global events, and also to point out some parallels in our supposedly-more-enlightened country. So, first: how do we define pornography? We have been there, done that in the US, without much success. Continue Reading →
Rape Culture, Pro-Life, And Anti-Women Rhetorics
There is a connection between various cultural messages about sex that reach us through the media, politics, and everyday life. I’ve seen it helpfully articulated on feminist blogs and in conversations with feminists and other allies, but it wasn’t until I was reading the footnotes of Sex at Dawn (because I am a nerd like that) that it all fell into place for me. First, I’d read Echo Zen’s Slutwalk address, which was awesome and thought-provoking. Speaking from the perspective of a reproductive health advocate, he defines rape culture as a culture that punishes women for trying to be in control of their sexuality, especially when that means choosing to be sexually active. Rape culture normalizes sexual violence and employs victim-blaming and slut-shaming strategies to cow women into complying… Continue Reading →