Azuaron said:
Cheering "Rape!" during an attempted rape scene? That's messed up.
Anonymous, get new friends, ones who aren't psychopaths1.
Whoa, hold it there. I have
great friends who are extremely kind to me and are
definitely not psychopaths. My point in using this as an example wasn't to show how my friends were cruel to me, but to show how even people who I care deeply about and choose to be close to can fall into not treating rape seriously because it's just not a real thing for them. To them, it's something they see in movies or hear about, not something that happens to flesh-and-blood people who are in the room with them.
Ask any of my friends what they think of rape and they'll tell you it's a horrible act that should be punished with a high degree of severity. However, when they're at a party, liquored up and being silly, even they can fall into the cultural meme of making it a joke. (Especially watching
Game of Thrones, which, let's admit, is kind of a rape-y show.)
That's the point: I don't think anyone who uses the term "rape" inappropriately are bad people, they just don't "get it" because it's never been a reality for them.
FoolKiller said:
You yourself have decided to not only remain anonymous within the realm of this article/discussion but also within your circle of friends (as you have mentioned the Game of Thrones incident). When people use the term online during a game, watching a show, or on the courts they are not doing it with any malice more than any other form of trash talk or vulgar humour.
I understand that people's intention can be non-malicious, in fact, I think that's most often the case. However, the arrow shot in sport still wounds. Unfortunately, in this case the word itself dredges up negative feelings and serves to trivialize something which many people already do not take seriously.
DVS BSTrD said:
And why are you willing to tell complete strangers about this anonymously when you don't even tell your friends? I know being a rape victim isn't something to advertise, but the only reason they "couldn't have known" is if YOU made a conscious decision NOT to tell them. If these people are important to you then you really should have told them how you felt. Conforming to the societal norm that rape is something the victim should be ashamed of just makes it stronger.
I can understand why you would be confused by this. Actually, it can become very complicated who I do and don't tell. While I don't think it's something to be
ashamed of per se, it does heavily change people's perceptions of you and frankly some people just aren't prepared to handle it. I've had friends grow distant after I've told them about my experiences, and others become guilty that they'd made rape and molestation jokes in front of me, or emailed me things that made me uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, a large group of friends making rape jokes is pretty much the worst time to tell them that you don't appreciate them, and that you're hurt because of experiences from your past. This is the worst time because 1) you've killed everyone's mood, and 2) you have to do this as part of a you-against-the-group speech, and that's not the ideal time to tell something personal about yourself. Also, as I mentioned before, you can't always trust everyone to handle it well. It's best to tell your friends individually, after the fact, that you had a problem with this behavior. In my experience, they take that pretty well, though you run the risk of them surmising you're a rape victim simply by stating you have a problem with rape jokes (body language always gives you away).
As for writing the article anonymously: recently several writers who have written on this or similar subjects have been harassed not only in the comments sections but on their blogs, on social media, by email, and even with having their Wikipedia pages defaced. I'd rather that not happen, thanks. Is it a little cowardly? Yeah, I think so, but I think it's also prudent.