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Original poster

Was Bristol Palin raped?

943 replies

darleneoconnor · 20/06/2011 11:16

according to this bristol palin was so drunk when she conceived her son that she doesn't remember having sex.

Sounds like rape to me.

Then she was basically 'forced' to marry her rapist? WTF! Sometimes America sounds more like the middle east!

Quite a few forums are discussing this, with some

disgusting rape myths on this forum

OP posts:
karmakameleon · 20/06/2011 17:19

darlene, surely the attitudes shown on other forums answer your question about why SP didn't use it during her campaign. There's not a lot of sympathy for rape victims out there.

wrongdecade · 20/06/2011 17:18

Poor thing its awful

Original poster
darleneoconnor · 20/06/2011 17:17

The way this is being discussed on other forums is shameful.
I've read one person saying that if she cant remember it then maybe she raped him!
Also lots of other people saying Levi should contact his lawyer and sue her!
I despair!

OP posts:
wrongdecade · 20/06/2011 17:08

I haven't read the article is it her actual words or second hand reporting ?

I always feel very uncomfortable about these types of threads topics etc this whole storm could come back to smack her in the face when perhaps she hasn't even said it.

Macaroona · 20/06/2011 17:05

Darlene, Dittany, anyone else who keeps accusing me of disbelieving Bristol's story - I don't !

I have to defend myself here - I thought I was taking part in a really interesting discussion about whether what happened was rape!

Here is the only comment of mine which could be construed as being unbelieving (and about a detail of her life, not the events of the night)

"I would hazard a (totally uninformed) guess that she is being pressurised to claim virginity in the same way she was pressurised to get engaged - to protect mummy's reputation as a good catholic girl."

I sympathise with her fgs. Stop inferring I'm anti-feminist!

dittany · 20/06/2011 16:53

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Original poster
darleneoconnor · 20/06/2011 16:52

macroona- I really dont think it's appropriate to come into this space and suggest that she is lying. There is nothing to suggest she is.

I think there are a lot of women who have had experiences which at the time they put down as 'unfortunate or regretful' sex. Then sometime later, maybe years or decades, they discover some feminist theory and re-label their experience rape. That is not saying that these weren't rapes in the first place. My educated guess on theis Bristol Palin case is that she is making this journey. She hasn't used the word rape yet but may do so in the future.

Legally it also depends on the jurisdiction.eg before 2002, in Scotland, having sex with someone drunk and unconscious was legally 'clandestine injury' not rape. Thankfully the law has since changed but in some jurisdictions a charge of rape still requires evidence of the use of force, which doesn't apply in these type of cases.

As an aside, I am left wondering why this 'angle' wasn't taken up at the time of the 'scandal'/election? Surely it would have sounded better for SP's campaign to have a daughter who was a rape victim, rather than have her labelled as a 'slut'?

OP posts:
Riveninside · 20/06/2011 16:52

Maybe she said yes while drunk? Who knows. None of us were there.

dittany · 20/06/2011 16:50

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dittany · 20/06/2011 16:48

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karmakameleon · 20/06/2011 16:47

I know all that SGM, but why say she doesn't remember losing her virginity if she does? She could have said they had sex, she later regretted it and changed her mind for a bit, but gave in to temptation again later, if that was the truth. It wouldn't have had a different effect on her image than the story she does tell.

StewieGriffinsMom · 20/06/2011 16:43

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karmakameleon · 20/06/2011 16:34

SGM, that doesn't sit well with the fact that she admits that they later had a sexual relationship before marriage, after the initial period of abstinence. Why would she be willing to admit to the later sexual activity if she is keen to keep the virgin image and avoid being labelled a "whore"?

dittany · 20/06/2011 16:33

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StewieGriffinsMom · 20/06/2011 16:27

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Macaroona · 20/06/2011 16:26

I don't understand Confused

Because I think this one individual may have lied, may have, then I shouldn't be posting in Feminism?

In this namechange after so many others, dittany you have put me off this board. There are plenty of decent feminist spaces on the net which don't treat posters with such disdain as you.

dittany · 20/06/2011 16:21

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karmakameleon · 20/06/2011 16:21

dittany, I'm not assuming she said yes when drunk, sorry if I wasn't clear. What I am certain of is that she would have said no when sober.

Macaroona · 20/06/2011 16:17

I see women as people Dittany, and she quite possibly has lied about some aspects of the whole shenanigans - it wouldn't be surprising given the pressure she's been under. Also, this whole thread is speculation tbh.

I'm not going to engage with you on this thread as there are lots of people actually posting interesting points.

What's up for debate is whether from what we know, she was raped or not. Some people think yes, others think no.

dittany · 20/06/2011 16:17

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dittany · 20/06/2011 16:15

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karmakameleon · 20/06/2011 16:15

dittany, from the first link in the op.

"The single mum insisted that the two later agreed to abstain until they were married, but that they eventually relented and had sex again."

StewieGriffinsMom · 20/06/2011 16:15

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karmakameleon · 20/06/2011 16:13

If he'd asked when she was sober, I doubt she would have said yes.

I have no idea but I'm happy to bet that if I signed a will, handed over my life savings to a random stranger etc when a bit pissed, the fact I was drunk would invalidate it. Generally, it's accepted that drunk people are temporarily incapacitated wrt financial decisions. Why different when consenting to sex?

dittany · 20/06/2011 16:13

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