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I presume you all know by now what went down in Steubenville, Ohio.
I usually stay away from these kinds of media-circus stories. Aside from the fact that it's only getting this much coverage because of the football angle (as opposed to all the other rapes that happen every single day you never hear about, and those are just the ones that get reported to the police), it’s one of those stories that just invites easy outrage and all-too-obvious commentary. And, predictably, not all of it is sympathetic towards the victim – sometimes to insane extremes. What else can I really add to that? “Rape bad.”
Still, there are a couple of angles worth bringing up here.
One, of course, is the role of social media – not just as rallying cry, but as evidence. Which is a double edged sword, because as has been pointed out, the Interwub never forgets. The pic and the video will circulate for years, and the victim can’t really do anything about it. That can’t make it any easier to try and get past it and move on, which in a way gives the perps a level of power over her that extends well past the actual crime.
And of course, thanks to the stupid media circus, now everyone knows her name, which can’t make it any easier.
The other angle is context.
Part of that has to do with the allegations that Steubenville residents and officials were more worried about the impact of the trial on their championship high school football team than the actual victim. Certainly a lot of media stories seem to talk about all of this being an “ordeal for Steubenville” – as if the town is the real victim here.
Granted, that’s just media hyperbole and not a serious stance, as is the apparent decision by CNN and other media outlets to spend far more time pondering the fate of the poor football players whose lives are ruined forever than the teenage girl constantly described with adjectives like “intoxicated” and “drunk”.
Still, all the handwringing over the perps and the rest of Steubenville raises the question of just what is the bigger priority here – a minor getting raped and humiliated on the internet, or the integrity of the local football team? Given what happened in the Jerry Sandusky case (which was about child molestation), it’s a valid question.
It’s also worth mentioning that we just came out of an election cycle in which a number of Congressmen were saying some strikingly stupid things about rape as a (extremely clumsy and ill-advised) mechanism to argue against exceptions to their pro-life ideology. While they weren’t actually arguing in favor of rape, they were making it fairly clear that they cared less about the feelings of women who get raped than they did about their macro political agenda of making abortion as illegal as possible. And, in the process, they were basically (probably inadvertently) letting men everywhere know that some kinds of rape aren’t real rape no matter what the woman thinks.
And don’t get me started on the constant, pervasive double standard of sexual morality that many people still embrace, in which guys are guys and women are either virgins or sluts and constantly shamed for being either one.
In other words, we live in a society where a number of people – not everyone, but some – don’t really take rape that seriously.
They say they do, of course. But I suspect that’s mainly because when they think of rape, they think of simplistic scenarios where sober and sensibly dressed women get assaulted by evil strangers in dark alleys. The reality is far more complex, and as cable TV news channels prove every single day, complex issues are really hard to distill into a three-minute “discussion” segment.
Being teenagers, the Steubenville offenders likely put even less thought into their own attitudes. They probably didn’t think what they were doing was rape, and they clearly thought what they were doing wasn’t wrong.
Let’s be clear: that’s no defense. The point is, this kind of thing happens – and too often guys get away with it – precisely because too many people don’t fully understand what rape really is, or they see it as inconsequential if it calls into question macro ideals they hold dear. Like football. Or banning abortion. Or whatever.
And this is where I hand you off to Henry Rollins, who has much to say about this.
I recommend reading the whole essay.
See also: John Scalzi’s essays on sexual harassment and the lowest difficulty setting.
Would education, truth, respect and equality end rape? Probably not. But they are things worth striving for regardless, so I don't see what we have to lose by embracing them.
No means f***ing no,
This is dF
I usually stay away from these kinds of media-circus stories. Aside from the fact that it's only getting this much coverage because of the football angle (as opposed to all the other rapes that happen every single day you never hear about, and those are just the ones that get reported to the police), it’s one of those stories that just invites easy outrage and all-too-obvious commentary. And, predictably, not all of it is sympathetic towards the victim – sometimes to insane extremes. What else can I really add to that? “Rape bad.”
Still, there are a couple of angles worth bringing up here.
One, of course, is the role of social media – not just as rallying cry, but as evidence. Which is a double edged sword, because as has been pointed out, the Interwub never forgets. The pic and the video will circulate for years, and the victim can’t really do anything about it. That can’t make it any easier to try and get past it and move on, which in a way gives the perps a level of power over her that extends well past the actual crime.
And of course, thanks to the stupid media circus, now everyone knows her name, which can’t make it any easier.
The other angle is context.
Part of that has to do with the allegations that Steubenville residents and officials were more worried about the impact of the trial on their championship high school football team than the actual victim. Certainly a lot of media stories seem to talk about all of this being an “ordeal for Steubenville” – as if the town is the real victim here.
Granted, that’s just media hyperbole and not a serious stance, as is the apparent decision by CNN and other media outlets to spend far more time pondering the fate of the poor football players whose lives are ruined forever than the teenage girl constantly described with adjectives like “intoxicated” and “drunk”.
Still, all the handwringing over the perps and the rest of Steubenville raises the question of just what is the bigger priority here – a minor getting raped and humiliated on the internet, or the integrity of the local football team? Given what happened in the Jerry Sandusky case (which was about child molestation), it’s a valid question.
It’s also worth mentioning that we just came out of an election cycle in which a number of Congressmen were saying some strikingly stupid things about rape as a (extremely clumsy and ill-advised) mechanism to argue against exceptions to their pro-life ideology. While they weren’t actually arguing in favor of rape, they were making it fairly clear that they cared less about the feelings of women who get raped than they did about their macro political agenda of making abortion as illegal as possible. And, in the process, they were basically (probably inadvertently) letting men everywhere know that some kinds of rape aren’t real rape no matter what the woman thinks.
And don’t get me started on the constant, pervasive double standard of sexual morality that many people still embrace, in which guys are guys and women are either virgins or sluts and constantly shamed for being either one.
In other words, we live in a society where a number of people – not everyone, but some – don’t really take rape that seriously.
They say they do, of course. But I suspect that’s mainly because when they think of rape, they think of simplistic scenarios where sober and sensibly dressed women get assaulted by evil strangers in dark alleys. The reality is far more complex, and as cable TV news channels prove every single day, complex issues are really hard to distill into a three-minute “discussion” segment.
Being teenagers, the Steubenville offenders likely put even less thought into their own attitudes. They probably didn’t think what they were doing was rape, and they clearly thought what they were doing wasn’t wrong.
Let’s be clear: that’s no defense. The point is, this kind of thing happens – and too often guys get away with it – precisely because too many people don’t fully understand what rape really is, or they see it as inconsequential if it calls into question macro ideals they hold dear. Like football. Or banning abortion. Or whatever.
And this is where I hand you off to Henry Rollins, who has much to say about this.
It is obvious that the two offenders saw the victim as some one that could be treated as a thing. This is not about sex, it is about power and control. I guess that is what I am getting at. Sex was probably not the hardest thing for the two to get, so that wasn’t the objective. When you hear the jokes being made during the crime, it is the purest contempt.
So, how do you fix that? I’m just shooting rubber bands at the night sky but here are a few ideas: Put women’s studies in high school the curriculum from war heroes to politicians, writers, speakers, activists, revolutionaries and let young people understand that women have been kicking ass in high threat conditions for ages and they are worthy of respect.
Total sex ed in school. Learn how it all works. Learn what the definition of statutory rape is and that it is rape, that date rape is rape, that rape is rape.
In the spirit of equal time, sites like Huffington Post should have sections for male anatomy hanging out instead of just the idiotic celebrity “side boob” and “nip slip” camera ops. I have no idea what that would be like to have a camera in my face at every turn, looking for “the” shot. I know what some of you are saying. “Then why do they wear clothes like that unless they want those photos taken?” I don’t know what to tell ya. Perhaps just don’t take the fuckin picture? Evolve? I don’t know.
Education, truth, respect, equality—these are the things that can get you from a to b very efficiently.
So, how do you fix that? I’m just shooting rubber bands at the night sky but here are a few ideas: Put women’s studies in high school the curriculum from war heroes to politicians, writers, speakers, activists, revolutionaries and let young people understand that women have been kicking ass in high threat conditions for ages and they are worthy of respect.
Total sex ed in school. Learn how it all works. Learn what the definition of statutory rape is and that it is rape, that date rape is rape, that rape is rape.
In the spirit of equal time, sites like Huffington Post should have sections for male anatomy hanging out instead of just the idiotic celebrity “side boob” and “nip slip” camera ops. I have no idea what that would be like to have a camera in my face at every turn, looking for “the” shot. I know what some of you are saying. “Then why do they wear clothes like that unless they want those photos taken?” I don’t know what to tell ya. Perhaps just don’t take the fuckin picture? Evolve? I don’t know.
Education, truth, respect, equality—these are the things that can get you from a to b very efficiently.
I recommend reading the whole essay.
See also: John Scalzi’s essays on sexual harassment and the lowest difficulty setting.
Would education, truth, respect and equality end rape? Probably not. But they are things worth striving for regardless, so I don't see what we have to lose by embracing them.
No means f***ing no,
This is dF
