Victim Blaming Article from so-called Feminist Comedians

[NakedPanpipeLady]

Hi everyone, first time posting on the Feminism Board (long time lurker) so please be gentle!

Saw this article on the AIBU reasonable board and thought some of you may want to read it (if you already haven't done so). Personally I wanted to bang my head against my desk after reading this.

Link: thejohnfleming.wordpress.com/2013/09/16/feminist-female-comedians-agree-there-are-different-types-of-rape-in-edinburgh/

Argh, I meant 'AIBU Board' not 'AIBU reasonable Board'.

Fuck that's depressing.

I've never heard of any of these people but this is awful. Arseholes.

Unbelievable.

Am also

On a more positive note, I heard a great anecdote the other day, from a parent regarding advice given to male students by a college tutor on this topic. Apparently they were told:

"Consent is really too low a bar. Hold out for enthusiasm."

That's the kind of dry wit to be proud of.

Would love to honour the person whose words they were, and the college, but sadly have no idea of either.

Isn't humour used sometimes to make you think. They raise some very important issue about how men view women, slut shaming, date rape, ageing, commodification of bodies and how women should be taken seriously professionally and they do this with humour.

It may be that what they are saying isn't meant to be taken at face value.

But it sounds as if they're joining in. From the transcript it sounds like they're just following the script.

My partner is a comedian and sadly one of the only ones who has spoken out against this. A lot of usually feminist comics are afraid to speak out against Copstick for fear of future bad reviews. I find this so depressing. That she can get away with saying this as person with influence.
Corry Shaw who reviews for Chortle wrote a response piece: thejohnfleming.wordpress.com/2013/09/20/an-open-response-by-a-comedy-critic-to-that-blog-about-different-types-of-rape/
Hopefully the rape apologists will read that and it will make them think.

Minitheminx. They definitely are not joking or being ironic. This was a straight interview. Kate Copstick is not even a comedian.

Even if the joke was on people who do think like that, the difficulty I have is that this type of humour challenges its audience to be either clever enough, or emotionally strong enough, to spot that it's not to be taken at face value. It exposes you if you're not. That's not a good thing if you happen to be a victim of rape or sexual abuse.

I expect I've spent far too much time trying to unravel and reassure someone who's since developed a paranoid illness following sexual abuse that I’m probably over sensitive; but the risk is that victims may not be at an emotionally strong enough stage of recovery to be able to see past taking what is presented at face value, or ready to move forward enough to see it.

At the other end there is also a risk that rapists and potential rapists, and victim blamers are probably not clever enough to get it, or deliberately interpret it as a green light.

So if it was intended to make people think, does this kind of humour help, or not? I think there might be kinder and more effective ways.

If it wasn't intended to make people think, and was straight up, then really I just despair.

I agree too dialP and I think the same argument can be applied to the disability 'jokes' peddled by the likes of F Boyle.

I consider myself a feminist (have a page and everything) and I sort of see what they're getting at but they're going at it from teh wrong angle.

Being young, drunk and a little bit wild isn't a cause of rape at all. Nothing a victim does is but I do think it makes you more vulnerable to people who would rape under those circumstances. It seems to be acceptable to shag drunk women who aren't capable consent at the moment and I do think some men go for those women for that reason. It's a whole other problem IYSWIM? What's wrong is that it's seen as 'fair game' because of this victim blaming and there's this horrible idea that not being able to consent because of whatever state you are in at that time amounts to silent consent, because you're not yelling no and trying to stop it etc. It's one of the things I hate most about my age group. I've heard it from so many people online and out on the 'piss' 'well she didn't say no/stop me'. Great. So she said yes then? Oh wait...

I used to like Jimmy Carr til he made an unashamed rape joke once or twice. There is nothing remotely funny about it & belittling the experience is beyond a cheap shot for laughs/publicity.

Sometimes humour which is intended to take the piss out of the persona you're taking on, can be effective in moving someone away from twattish attitudes. Nothing like a bit of non-direct exposure that makes us wriggle a bit, to make us reassess ourselves. So to some extent I can accept that some comedians think they are doing a service (in making people think).

But comedians need to be better aware of the downside and the obvious hurt it can cause (to those who then get labelled as professionally offended) and it obviously grants twats with a level of intelligence they don't deserve. Quite possibly once a twat, always a twat. Bit like Copstick et al, if Thants is correct.

Kate Copstick is a cunt.

She was on Jeremy Vine a while ago at the height of the Jimmy Saville thing, saying basically that these women should just get over it and that women/girls who get groped by dirty old men are making too much fuss. Regardless of their age when groped.

JV actually asked her what she'd do if she had a 9 year old daughter and a man put his hand up her skirt. Would she report the man to the police?

Reply: "Of COURSE I wouldn't!"

Revolting, stupid woman. I loathe her.

Fuck me I hope they hang her up to dry, WiddleAndPuke.

Now there's someone who should never work in the public arena again.

If only she knew.