re: #456 Simply Sarah

And I need to strongly disagree. To me, those mindsets go hand in hand. Even if the blaming of women isn’t conscious and explicit, it is underlying the entire concept. It’s saying that if she (In most cases) didn’t look so sexy/provocative/attractive/etc., she wouldn’t have been raped (Or would have had a lower chance of it occurring). It ignores the fact that, no, the fault is on the guy (Again, in most cases) that decided he was going to rape her for whatever reason. Her looks have nothing to do with that, especially since I don’t buy the bullshit on rape being caused simply by men that can’t control their sexual urges.

I have seen a couple of articles from feminists lately with an intriguing argument about this and that is that those friendly advice lists for women on how to avoid rape are in fact excuse lists for rapists. It’s actually quite valid. In criminal court cases these are the things that are traditionally argued in defense of the rapist. She was drunk, she was dressed like a whore, she was seen in public with breasts… These things are so ingrained in the cultural psyche as “she was asking for it” and they are things that a rapist can look for knowing that these factors are going to excuse his actions, both in his mind AND in the mind of the public.