I was raped when I was 14. I was left violated, bruised and bleeding with any naivety and innocence I had completely stolen from me. The fact that someone even thought that this bill would be a good idea makes me absolutely sick to my stomach. Rape is rape. It doesn’t matter if it’s a stranger on the street or your boyfriend who doesn’t listen when you say you don’t want to. NO MEANS NO. It is never a subliminal yes. It doesn’t need redefining. If anything, it needs harsher punishments for rapists.
Please take a minute of your time to sign this petition if you haven’t already. Click the image to be taken to it.
Whether you’re a survivor, a woman, a man, it’s something that is important. Every two minutes, someone is sexually assaulted. You never know, you might know someone that was or is being assaulted. Sign this petition to keep them safe, yourself, and to honor your friends or family that have survived through it or been taken away because of it.
I was raped when I was 14. I was left violated, bruised and bleeding with any naivety and innocence I had completely stolen from me. The fact that someone even thought that this bill would be a good idea makes me absolutely sick to my stomach. Rape is rape. It doesn’t matter if it’s a stranger on the street or your boyfriend who doesn’t listen when you say you don’t want to. NO MEANS NO. It is never a subliminal yes. It doesn’t need redefining. If anything, it needs harsher punishments for rapists.
Please take a minute of your time to sign this petition if you haven’t already. Click the image to be taken to it.
Whether you’re a survivor, a woman, a man, it’s something that is important. Every two minutes, someone is sexually assaulted. You never know, you might know someone that was or is being assaulted. Sign this petition to keep them safe, yourself, and to honor your friends or family that have survived through it or been taken away because of it.
Don’t say rape when you don’t mean rape.
There are many things rape is not:
- consensual sex
- affectionate contact
- a bear hug
- a tackle
- eye contact
- an argument
- a surprise
- overburdening
- an athletic loss
- a neutral metaphor
There are only a few things rape is:
- forcing sex on a person
- despoiling a population or place
- [a mustard plant or grape residue]
No one rapes your Internet connection, or rapes you in a debate. No one rapes your ask box with spam. People don’t rape with their eyes, that’s called “eye-fucking.” You are not raped with a passionate hug. No one rapes you at basketball or rapes you with a tackle, playful or athletic. You don’t want someone to rape you, because then it isn’t rape. Wanting to rape does not mean wanting to have sex. You do not want to rape people to whom you’re attracted, unless you are a rapist.
As long as I’m talking about it, here are some misconceptions:
- Nonchalance toward rape does not combat the stigmatization attached to victims.
- The word rape does not give itself power. The power comes from the context of the word for victims.
- Rape victims are not asking you to be hypersensitive by asking you not to belittle or to trigger a trauma.
- I’m not violating your right to free speech by asking you to be considerate.
If you read this and felt attacked, ask yourself why. We don’t say “sexually abused” metaphorically, so why say rape? I’m not asking you to never use the word. I just believe it should only be used when you seriously mean rape. When we live in a world without millions of victims, we can talk about redefining or reclaiming it.
I even have alternatives, though there are obviously many more:
- ravish
- ravage
- exhaust
- overwork
- pulverize
- obliterate
- trash
- defile
- squash
- clobber
- pommel
- destroy
- burden
- defeat
- massacre
- trample
- vanquish
- overpower
- thwart
The original poster is my new favorite person.
Think about this the next time you want to use this as a descriptive: do you know someone that’s been raped?
If you follow me, you do.
And I find it highly offensive and painful to see it made a joke of.
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