March 1, 2006
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yesterday there was a lot of discussion about rape, sex, and violence, prompted by someone else's post... it still boggles my mind that 30 years after all the consciousness-raising of the 1970s we as a society still believe that rape has something to do with sex. it does not.
to forcibly take something from someone is an act of robbery. to injure or harm during that robbery makes it assault and battery on top of the theft. the same conditions that would get a man robbed or beaten result in rape for a woman. it doesn't matter the age, the level of attractiveness, what someone is wearing - the assault comes out of violence, not sexual attraction. some people are aroused by violence, but that doesn't make it sex, since it is the violence that has gotten the response.
men can be raped. they can be raped by other men, being forcibly sodomized (anal sex) or forced to perform fellatio (oral sex). they can be raped by women, since sexual arousal is to some extent not voluntary (how many boners, guys, have you gotten when you would have preferred not to?)...
there is no shame in being raped, since it only means you have been a victim of violence. my first sexual experience was involuntary. however, until society treats the crime of rape as primarily a crime of violence, stigma will attach. and it is worse for men since society presumes their ability to protect themselves even against violent attack...
Comments (3)
By this logic, armed bank robbers don't want the money, just the violent experience.
ps - I completely agree that the shame associated w/ being a victim (or "survivor" in the PC vernacular) makes no sense. I have spent five minutes trying to come up with the right word for it (assinine, rediculous, illogical), but can't find one that fits.
at first i was going to dismiss your assessment of the logic, but now i think you might be on to something... for many people it seems that it IS about the violence more than the money, since the majority of people get money other ways. weapons represent violence by their very nature, and their possession indicates a willingness to participate in violence. it is NOT a stretch to say that the robbery might be the excuse for the violence...
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