Activist Art: Give Help, Not Blame
Completed July 2010.
14"x10"; pen&ink on watercolor paper.
Rape culture is relevant to every single one of us. If you have not been raped, you know someone who has (even if zie has not told you about it). You see news reports every day about someone "having sex" with another person without zir consent. That is not sex. THAT IS RAPE. One of the more prevalent and insidious manifestations of rape culture is victim- blaming; the overwhelming tendency to dissect the survivor's behavior, clothing, past, and personal characteristics to make it her fault zie was raped. This makes the rapist invisible, and casts doubt on the survivor's credibility just because zie dared to say the word "rape".
I personally believe that a large part of this results from fear, and a desire to distance ourselves from the possibility of rape. It couldn't happen to me, we say. I would never dress or behave like that. I'm safe.
No. None of us are safe. Not while the twisted rape-positive culture of thousands of years is out there, telling us that certain types of people aren' to be trusted or can't be raped or aren't even human, not really. Not while most rapes aren't even reported because of fear that they won't be taken seriously. Not while only SIX PERCENT of those that are reported lead to conviction.
Calling her names will not make you safer.
Give help, not blame.
Links:
Read my blog post about this piece.
14"x10"; pen&ink on watercolor paper.
Rape culture is relevant to every single one of us. If you have not been raped, you know someone who has (even if zie has not told you about it). You see news reports every day about someone "having sex" with another person without zir consent. That is not sex. THAT IS RAPE. One of the more prevalent and insidious manifestations of rape culture is victim- blaming; the overwhelming tendency to dissect the survivor's behavior, clothing, past, and personal characteristics to make it her fault zie was raped. This makes the rapist invisible, and casts doubt on the survivor's credibility just because zie dared to say the word "rape".
I personally believe that a large part of this results from fear, and a desire to distance ourselves from the possibility of rape. It couldn't happen to me, we say. I would never dress or behave like that. I'm safe.
No. None of us are safe. Not while the twisted rape-positive culture of thousands of years is out there, telling us that certain types of people aren' to be trusted or can't be raped or aren't even human, not really. Not while most rapes aren't even reported because of fear that they won't be taken seriously. Not while only SIX PERCENT of those that are reported lead to conviction.
Calling her names will not make you safer.
Give help, not blame.
Links:
Read my blog post about this piece.