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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Please help me frame my argument wrt rape apologist

77 replies

PacificDogwod · 16/09/2016 16:31

I need help as I feel I've lost a debate today although I know I'm right, goddammit! Grin

Ok, here goes:
Female co-worker and I were talking about sexual assault/rape and she came out with the old 'well, she was asking for it what with her short skirt/gaudy make-up/being out and alone at that time of night/teasing him with her provocative dancing' or whatever. Which I countered that that represents rape apology and that the guilt is always with the rapist, no matter what went before.

So she gave the example that is two men (or women, I suppose, 2 people of the same sex) get in to a fight and one punches/stabs the other any judge/court would take in to account whether they were provoked and that unreasonable or inflammatory action by the victim prior to the attack would be used to mitigate the guilt of the attacker (or at least result in a lesser sentence).

Now I know that sexual assault/rape has very little to do with sex and an awful lot with power/need to dominate/control and nobody no matter how short their skirt should ever have to be subjected to that kind of violence, but I struggle to not agree with the mitigation argument? Confused

Help!! I know I won't be able to let this lie, and I do have until Monday to get things clear in my head.

OP posts:
VestalVirgin · 16/09/2016 16:46

Yeah, if two people get into a fight, then both of them are likely guilty of aggression.

Whereas a woman who wears a short skirt is being nice giving the man something beautiful to look at, and then he pays that back by committing an act of violence.

How is that in any way comparable? That's utter nonsense!

titchy · 16/09/2016 16:40

Because if A called B a 'fucking wanker', shoved him and threatened to kill his family and B retaliated then that mitigates B because A was being abusive in the first place.

If C is walking down the road in a short skirt and D rapes her that doesn't mitigate D because C has not done anything to provoke D.

If C is flirting with D and he rapes her that doesn't mitigate him either because again she has not done anything that indicates she's up for a bit of rape.