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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Trigger warning: Germain Greer's opinion on rape...

568 replies

LokiBear · 03/06/2018 09:36

I can't actually get my head around this. How can a woman think like this? I have two daughters and comments like hers frighten me. I teach consent to 15 year olds and this goes against everything I try to teach them. I just dont get how anyone can think like this.

news.sky.com/story/germaine-greer-says-most-rape-is-bad-sex-not-violent-crime-11390855

OP posts:
Pengggwn · 04/06/2018 15:49

CuriousaboutSamphire

I disagree. I don't think you should talk to the media without taking some responsibility for the veracity of the reporting. If it is wrong, she should say so.

Pengggwn · 04/06/2018 15:51

She says exactly what she is quoted to have said.

CuriousaboutSamphire · 04/06/2018 15:55

She says exactly what she is quoted to have said.

What do you get by doing that?

If you watched the clip you know how it ended. You know that whilst they were her exact words, which nobody has denied, they have been denuded of their proper context.

Why keep denying that? What do you get out of it?

Nice try though, blaming Greer for media misrepresentation! But yes, if someone is wrong they should say so....

.... waiting but not holding my breath!

Luisa27 · 04/06/2018 15:55

Good to see you back Curious ...your earlier posts were really interesting Smile

Absolutely Pumper - proves your point unequivocally in my opinion

Pengggwn · 04/06/2018 16:00

CuriousaboutSamphire

I don't think her words are out of context at all. She is suggesting that we reduce the tariffs for some rapes. She is telling us we should think about some rapes instead as 'bad sex' that is just lazy/insensitive.

No. When my DH forgets our anniversary he is being lazy and insensitive. Rape isn't laziness. Rape is a fucking crime.

CuriousaboutSamphire · 04/06/2018 16:00

Thanks Luisa

I found what she said to be very thought provoking. Full of her usual media stirring rhetoric and likely to stir up a lot of headlines.

But I was very disappointed to see what those headlines actually were. It is like she is being Nationally No Platformed by dint of being mis represented!

I do wonder what it is the media and our society as a whole fear! She is, after all, just another gob on legs! She isn't a fatal disease!

CuriousaboutSamphire · 04/06/2018 16:01

MNHQ - please, ban me now Smile

Luisa27 · 04/06/2018 16:12

Yes me too Curious...I think she’s a really interesting woman.
The headlines were utterly misleading - lazy ‘shock jock’, reactionary journalism. Her speech was thought provoking, multi layered and sophisticated. I enjoyed listening to her....one of the highlights of the Hay for me.

Luisa27 · 04/06/2018 16:15

....oh and I agree, absolutely NOT her responsibility to appease lazy, reactionary journalism.

CuriousaboutSamphire · 04/06/2018 16:53

Oh! It was you who said she had been there!

Just think, we could have been mere feet apart... an MNNM (MumsNet Near Miss) Grin

Pengggwn · 04/06/2018 16:56

Tell you what, I'm starting to think GG has magical powers, seeing as she has managed to convince several seemingly intelligent people that she meant the exact opposite of what she said. It's Bermuda Triangle weird.

CuriousaboutSamphire · 04/06/2018 17:01

One more time... I am feeling generous and have a slight lull whilst my pictures are being processed.

Did you watch the clip of her speaking the words you have partially quoted a few times? Did you hear her say "He.... raped... Her"

Have you thought about why the journalist who reported her speech chose not to include those words? Mmm! have you?

Why continue with your little crusade? You were wrong. You said people who are wrong should just apologise....

... still waiting, Still not holding my breath.

Pengggwn · 04/06/2018 17:02

CuriousaboutSamphire

I heard what she said. I cannot for the life of me understand why you believe it changes the meaning of her earlier words.

CuriousaboutSamphire · 04/06/2018 17:05

OK! There's no arguing with stupid. I am out!

Pengggwn · 04/06/2018 17:06

OK! There's no arguing with stupid. I am out!

Up to you. I'll happily listen if you can explain how it changes the meaning of what she said.

AutumnMadness · 04/06/2018 17:08

Pengggwn, I am amazed by your fixation on a few words at the expense of a rich discussion that they generated. I believe this situation is called "not seeing the wood for the trees".

JamieVardysHavingAParty · 04/06/2018 17:16

Pengggwn When I asked what punctuation you were using, I didn't mean what marks you were putting in the post. I know you are copy and pasting. I mean, what punctuation are you using in your head? Are the triple dots merely an inadvertent gasp for breath to you?

This is a bare bones written transcript of the spoken word, and the reader has to interpret how it was originally spoken. Those ... are, to me, the end of the preceding sentence. Another poster has come on to say that there should be quotation marks around the "bad sex", and we've had three words added to the end.

To go back to an earlier example, let's say someone else made a speech and said:

in my youth I helped my uncle jack off his horse on a daily basis.

At that moment, the speaker become hostage to any hack screwing up the punctuation.

Pumperthepumper · 04/06/2018 17:20

But I was very disappointed to see what those headlines actually were. It is like she is being Nationally No Platformed by dint of being mis represented!

Another PP said that she wondered what response the same talk would have had if it’d been a different person giving it. I’m a fan of GG, I don’t agree with everything she says but I agree with a lot of it - but I do think the downside of the kind of relationship she’s had with the media means the go for her at any given opportunity.

RebelRogue · 04/06/2018 17:26

"Think of is as consensual, non consensual that is, bad sex". Isn't she just correcting herself?

"Think of is as non consensual bad sex"

Then she gives an example of non consensual bad sex, ending with "he's raping her".

Luisa27 · 04/06/2018 17:29

Good point re: ‘punctuation in head’
Jamie...when I attempted ( v badly) to address this upthread, Pengg has to stop dead in the middle of the road and laugh hysterically apparently. Please correct me if I’m mistaken, but I’m sure I’ve read threads in the past when Pengg has said she’s a teacher?? If so, surely she should understand completely the intricacies and importance of punctuation, both on paper and in ones’ head?? If not...yikes Hmm

Luisa27 · 04/06/2018 17:31

Curious ....ooh yes! We literally could have been feet apart - how spooky Grin

Pengggwn · 04/06/2018 17:32

AutumnMadness

I don't think this is a rich discussion. I think it is a ridiculous discussion, with people wilfully ignoring the clear meaning of GG's comments. It's baffling.

Pengggwn · 04/06/2018 17:33

JamieVardysHavingAParty

No, I understand what an ellipsis is for. I don't think the content not used is likely to reverse the meaning of what she said, and if it does, I look forward to hearing her clarification.

Luisa27 · 04/06/2018 17:33

And I’ve missed out commas! Ahaha -serves me right for trying to type and feed the dogs st the same time 😂

Luisa27 · 04/06/2018 17:35

But anyhow...whatever. It’s a damn interesting discussion and has certainly been v thought provoking for me so far....we’ll done GG! 👌