Why do conservative media-makers use rape metaphors?
Charming. Video from Media Matters.
Posted by Jessica - November 23, 2009, at 09:31AM
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Violence Against Women
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How often do we find individuals and entities using loaded metaphors for their own benefit while entirely disregarding or missing the point altogether, distorting the original meaning in the process.
WOW. I am almost in tears from hearing "rape" so many times. What the fuck Roman Polanski joke? What the fuck saying that the "rape of the nation" is the "real" issue, as though people who are raped are just crying and complaining about nothing? Good grief. Also, I don't know if it's just this video, but I notice it's only men who are using the term "rape" so cavalierly. Fucking hell.
It's just the video. Women use rape as a metaphor all the time. As a male who thinks that's totally inappropriate I really have no idea how to react.
Also, it's quite telling that the conservative pundits are using the threat of rape by OBAMA to scare their listeners. The myth of the Black male rapist is alive and well. I'm honestly surprised a conservative pundit hasn't dropped some comment about lynching the president.
You bring up a good point.
Rape is the new Lynching---who knew. It's still disgusting no matter which way you look at it.
Why did the Salon writer feel the need to make cutesy jokes like "rapeocalypse"?
Also she spent the whole first half of the piece frantically trying to make sure we all know she isn't a humorless feminist.
Part of the problem, Salon.
I know I should be mad at fox trivializing rape like that, but that mash-up was just too hilarious. What pieces of shit these guys are.
Oh, and I can't believe I'm promoting Dane Cook but this immediately reminded me of a bit he did on the use of the word "rape" (I think this is a good example of a man telling a nonoffensive rape joke):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqI17scPxho&feature=related
Someone in the community section made a post saying that "rape" is being used so much in general, it's causing a desensitization to the actual crime. What Beck does is less pure conservative media insanity and more sadly predictable overuse by conservatives of something too many people are treating as acceptable already.
I think desensitization is a big issue. Sorry to be self-promoting, but something I wrote about it" http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/138667
In particular, when I spoke with Alison Rose, she made some key points about why women need to resist this word being tossed around casually.
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"The more we dilute this word, the more we play down the power of sexual violence," says Angela Rose, founder and executive director of Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment, a group devoted to education and action surrounding rape. "It actually adds to the silence surrounding this issue because it diverts attention."
Rose worries about what she calls "the bystander effect" -- as rape is used casually, and actual rapes begin to seem less serious, the less the citizenry will realize they have a stake in ending sexual assault. Women are already told to yell "fire" instead of "rape" when they are being attacked because of a lack of community interest in violence against women -- this can only add to the problem.
Misogynistic assfaces
Have you noticed that the careless use of rape has increased during the Obama administration? I really think that this is meant to conjure up the specter of the black rapist waiting for the white woman. They used this despicable tactic to derail ERA back in the 70s when opponents warned about "same-sex bathrooms" used by black rapists to prey on white women. I mean Rush equating the "legalization of rape" to the "Civil Rights Act of 2009?" What does Civil Rights Act mean to his mindless base, to the racists who listen to him? Oh that's right. Anything African-American. He gets to play the race card AND the victim card, something he does best.
I've noticed the rape metaphor in video gaming. I play MMOs like World of Warcraft, and I constantly hear "yo dude that boar totally raped us!" when a character dies, or gets injured, etc. Ironically, the boys are the only ones who use this terminology. (And I say "boys" since my experience with the aforementioned have been teen boys.)
YES, exactly. I made a post about it recently, but I didn't include that this is one of the biggest reasons I don't play WoW anymore - kids mock rape and the GMs you report it to don't care! Everyday I put in a petition about people mocking rape and the next day I see them logging on probably without so much as a slap on the wrist. It's incredible. Especially since women make up an extremely large percentage of the player base now.
In the non-online world, many women and girls use rape as a metaphor for anything unpleasant.
Wow, I couldn't get past like 45 seconds of that before I had to just stop the damn thing. I HATE rape metaphors...
Those stupid conservatives are anti-women, anti-respect, without any disregard for actual rape victims. It's a shame those teabagges (haha) can't think for themselves and mindlessly worship those airheads. To rape has become so easy to just throw around and is now synonymous with just something happening to you that you don't want.