Twitter Soapbox - Racism, Sexism etc

[gingerhobbit]

Funny that this thread started back up a couple days after Yogi Berra died...'cause it feels like deja vu all over again.

 

[DeadCamzzz]

I'm curious what people in this thread think about men getting raped. Not discounting the subject of females being raped at all. But just thinking, I seriously doubt many men report being raped at all either for fear of being shamed. Would that be considered part of rape culture as per your definitions?

 

[Gen]

I'm curious what people in this thread think about men getting raped. Not discounting the subject of females being raped at all. But just thinking, I seriously doubt many men report being raped at all either for fear of being shamed. Would that be considered part of rape culture as per your definitions?

Absolutely it would be, and usually is in my experience. Obviously everyone's experience is different but in the vast majority of feminist spaces I've been in (socially, women's studies classes at school, etc), there's been a lot of discussion about how sexism harms men, and the shame surrounding male rape comes up a lot. One of my profs was dismissive of male rape and I was glad to see a great number of students stand up to them about it. In my perfect world, nobody should be ashamed or scared to report their rape, and it should be treated seriously in everyone's case.

 

[DeadCamzzz]

Absolutely it would be, and usually is in my experience. Obviously everyone's experience is different but in the vast majority of feminist spaces I've been in (socially, women's studies classes at school, etc), there's been a lot of discussion about how sexism harms men, and the shame surrounding male rape comes up a lot. One of my profs was dismissive of male rape and I was glad to see a great number of students stand up to them about it. In my perfect world, nobody should be ashamed or scared to report their rape, and it should be treated seriously in everyone's case.

I've noticed that women generally are much stronger than men when it comes to admitting and talking about these things. I still don't like to talk about what happened to me as a child, and it happened 25 years ago. Only ever told it fully to 4 people and that wasn't until I was in my 30's. Let's just say friends of the family aren't always friends. Even right now I'm afraid of what my friends who visit this forum will think of me when they read this. But, I'm probably overblowing things in that regard. Everyone in this community seems to be open and friendly and understanding enough for me to attempt bravery. The first person who I ever told had such a strong visceral reaction (at the situation) that I don't want to tell people for not wanting to hurt them (something someone else in this thread also mentioned). It didn't occur to me until someone mentioned childhood sexual abuse as rape in this very thread that I was a rape victim, which is why I feel like adding to the discussion.

*crosses his fingers and hits Post Reply*

 

[Sevrin]

Even right now I'm afraid of what my friends who visit this forum will think of me when they read this.

Maybe some of them have their own experiences they've kept quiet.

My guess is that boys, on average, are more likely to have been assaulted at a younger age than women, simply because we get a lot bigger as we go through adolescence and both less attractive to predators and harder to control physically. We became victims, again, on average, at a time in our lives when it was much harder to process what happened, and it doesn't become easier to explain to older selves what happened, let alone tell others about it. All that remains is a vague feeling that something's not quite right about us.

 

[eclipse76]

I didn't literally mean that where I'm at people are like "Woo, rape is great!". But in the US 98% of rapists won't receive jail time and only 68% of rapes are reported and victim blaming is everywhere, even if nobody is saying "yeah, I think rape is okay" I'd still say that society doesn't seem to have as much of a problem with sexual violence as they should.

Just FYI, over 2/3 of rape defendants receive a prison sentence, and the average sentence in the US is 14 years. 2% get a life sentence.

 

[JickyJuly]

Just FYI, over 2/3 of rape defendants receive a prison sentence, and the average sentence in the US is 14 years. 2% get a life sentence.

A rape defendant is different than a rapist. Even in cases where the victim comes forward, rape is hard to prove. Usually, it's a he said she said and that is always questionable. Courts aren't going to waste time with crimes they can't prove. For an alleged rapist to become a rape defendant, professionals need to believe there will not be doubt. So, it makes sense that a high amount of rape defendants would end up receiving a guilty verdict. That seems pretty predictable, doesn't it?

Edit to add: 2/3 is still a smaller conviction rate than many other crimes.

 

[eclipse76]

A rape defendant is different than a rapist. Even in cases where the victim comes forward, rape is hard to prove. Usually, it's a he said she said and that is always questionable. Courts aren't going to waste time with crimes they can't prove. For an alleged rapist to become a rape defendant, professionals need to believe there will not be doubt. So, it makes sense that a high amount of rape defendants would end up receiving a guilty verdict. That seems pretty predictable, doesn't it?

Edit to add: 2/3 is still a smaller conviction rate than many other crimes.

Which is why the other infographics posted in this thread is even more wrong because it assumes guiltiness by default instead of innocence.

No, 2/3 is a typical conviction rate.