Why So Serious?
I dont often do serious, but I thought I would try and be a little bit serious this week. After all, even the most talented comedian finds it difficult to throw some funnies in when the topic is rape.
Last week I had a Twitter discussion with a prospective Liberal Democrat MP. Well, more of a brief chat really, its hard to have a discussion in under 140 characters unless you resort to text speak and teenage acronyms that nobody over the age of 30 can understand.
In brief, a LibDem campaigner named Daisy Cooper insisted that this poster was offensive and sexist.
And insisted it should be replaced with this one.
Now, I don't usually take issue with this kind of thing because it seems a bit crass for a man to wade into the discussion. Sort of like a Saudi Arabian bloke telling an American that gender pay inequality in the United States is an outrageous affront, while simultaneously beating his third wife with a stick because she reverse parked the car.
Last week I had a Twitter discussion with a prospective Liberal Democrat MP. Well, more of a brief chat really, its hard to have a discussion in under 140 characters unless you resort to text speak and teenage acronyms that nobody over the age of 30 can understand.
In brief, a LibDem campaigner named Daisy Cooper insisted that this poster was offensive and sexist.
 |
| Vile and offensive pleasant advice.. |
And insisted it should be replaced with this one.
 |
| Drinking Fosters actually is a crime however... |
Now, I don't usually take issue with this kind of thing because it seems a bit crass for a man to wade into the discussion. Sort of like a Saudi Arabian bloke telling an American that gender pay inequality in the United States is an outrageous affront, while simultaneously beating his third wife with a stick because she reverse parked the car.
I took umbrage with this though, because just like almost everything to do with politics, I find it all terribly shortsighted.
Daisy seems like a nice lady, but I think misguided and shortsighted activism often does more harm than good, so lets explore the big picture and I shall attempt to make my case in more coherent sentences.
If 100 of each poster go up in Sussex, we can presume that lots of women will see the first poster and say "I best be more careful, its a harsh world we live in and you never know when a weirdo is going to try something"
Sure, plenty with a very aggressively feminist worldview may take offense, but they will probably still heed the advice, a seed has been planted. Be careful, some men are arseholes with the moral fiber of heroin-addled televangelist with a gambling problem.
The ones that see the second poster are pleased it directs itself at men, obviously the instigators of rape, but it affects the ladies actions not at all. Indeed, it might make them think "Yes, rape is rape and if I want to get so smashed I eat a pizza out of a recycling bin that's my business"
Thus you could fairly argue that the second poster only directly attacks the issue from the one angle, it tells men that when a woman says no, she means no.
This is also a somewhat toothless argument. I don't want to burst any bubbles here girls, but the majority of men are fully aware that no means no. There are not many men out there that would happily drag a woman into an alley, tear her clothing off her limp body, and jump her bones convinced he was a bastion of morality. Does anybody actually think that the members of grooming gangs and serial rapists would have their hand stayed by a strongly worded letter?
Add to the fact that in places like Glasgow and Middlesbrough the men cant actually read, while the women take the time to learn such valuable skills.
Why not have both if stopping rape is really first thing on the agenda? Launch a withering two-pronged assault. Remind (the vanishingly tiny percentage of utterly idiotic rapists) that consent cannot be given by an unconscious "partner" who is face down in the gutter after four bottles of Lambrini, and also remind women to be careful, because some men have no shame.
Is that really so hard to understand?
Obviously thanks to the aforementioned short-sightedness that pervades modern politics Daisy Cooper and her equally short-sighted supporters have won the day, and the poster has been removed.
But I really want to know... am I being a fool here? As a happily married agnostic fellow, I certainly consider myself a feminist. I think women should be paid the same, and because I have always had terrible dress sense I think Im probably less judgmental of a woman's appearance than most women are. My wife never wears make up and rarely dons a dress, she naturally looks better than the hairy dwarf she stupidly agreed to marry. I don't presume to even remotely influence what a women says, wears or does.
Yet here I am, wondering "Am I sexist then? Do I tacitly endorse FGM and polygamy just because I think removing sound advice does more harm than good?"
The "victim blaming" culture is definitely a terrible thing, but we have come a long way since 1960. I don't for a second believe that anybody with half a brain cell really thinks that a woman somehow "deserves" to get raped for almost any reason at all. In fact, I only know one person who thinks that, and he is currently leading the Taliban.
I have to mention, Emily Cooper also used the "slippery slope" argument, perhaps the worst logical fallacy ever. "Allow euthanasia, and the next thing you know everyone will be executing their family members" (visit Belgium and the Netherlands) "Allow gay marriage and the next thing people will be marrying vacuum cleaners and donkeys" (Denmark saw no rise in marriages to household devices or wild animals after legally recognizing same sex unions in 1989) "Give women the vote and the next thing you know they will be chopping men's dicks off while they are sleeping"
Ok well, forget that last one.
So please ladies especially, let me know. Am I in the wrong in this? Is the first poster genuinely offensive to the majority of women? Considering most rapists are unlikely to heed the advice of strongly worded posters, but most victims are likely to think twice after seeing one advising caution, I firmly believe removing it is basically playing into the hands of predatory men.
Women are always the victims of rape regardless of the circumstances. The problem is, most men already know it.
Anyway, to end on a positive note, I have decided to design a poster that both tells women to be careful, and also lays the blame squarely at the feet of men. I shall of course make this masterwork of digital manipulation available to all of the Police Forces in England and Wales free of charge, as a public service to women everywhere.
You are very welcome ladies. ;)
Feedback is much appreciated. I welcome insults and derogatory remarks about myself and my family (especially my big fat brother) please do not hesitate to call me a sexist prick or post dogshit to my house. If you put it in an Amazon Prime box with an iPad or an expensive laptop, I probably wont even notice until it is all over the kitchen or something.
Daisy seems like a nice lady, but I think misguided and shortsighted activism often does more harm than good, so lets explore the big picture and I shall attempt to make my case in more coherent sentences.
If 100 of each poster go up in Sussex, we can presume that lots of women will see the first poster and say "I best be more careful, its a harsh world we live in and you never know when a weirdo is going to try something"
Sure, plenty with a very aggressively feminist worldview may take offense, but they will probably still heed the advice, a seed has been planted. Be careful, some men are arseholes with the moral fiber of heroin-addled televangelist with a gambling problem.
The ones that see the second poster are pleased it directs itself at men, obviously the instigators of rape, but it affects the ladies actions not at all. Indeed, it might make them think "Yes, rape is rape and if I want to get so smashed I eat a pizza out of a recycling bin that's my business"
Thus you could fairly argue that the second poster only directly attacks the issue from the one angle, it tells men that when a woman says no, she means no.
This is also a somewhat toothless argument. I don't want to burst any bubbles here girls, but the majority of men are fully aware that no means no. There are not many men out there that would happily drag a woman into an alley, tear her clothing off her limp body, and jump her bones convinced he was a bastion of morality. Does anybody actually think that the members of grooming gangs and serial rapists would have their hand stayed by a strongly worded letter?
Add to the fact that in places like Glasgow and Middlesbrough the men cant actually read, while the women take the time to learn such valuable skills.
Why not have both if stopping rape is really first thing on the agenda? Launch a withering two-pronged assault. Remind (the vanishingly tiny percentage of utterly idiotic rapists) that consent cannot be given by an unconscious "partner" who is face down in the gutter after four bottles of Lambrini, and also remind women to be careful, because some men have no shame.
Is that really so hard to understand?
Obviously thanks to the aforementioned short-sightedness that pervades modern politics Daisy Cooper and her equally short-sighted supporters have won the day, and the poster has been removed.
But I really want to know... am I being a fool here? As a happily married agnostic fellow, I certainly consider myself a feminist. I think women should be paid the same, and because I have always had terrible dress sense I think Im probably less judgmental of a woman's appearance than most women are. My wife never wears make up and rarely dons a dress, she naturally looks better than the hairy dwarf she stupidly agreed to marry. I don't presume to even remotely influence what a women says, wears or does.
Yet here I am, wondering "Am I sexist then? Do I tacitly endorse FGM and polygamy just because I think removing sound advice does more harm than good?"
The "victim blaming" culture is definitely a terrible thing, but we have come a long way since 1960. I don't for a second believe that anybody with half a brain cell really thinks that a woman somehow "deserves" to get raped for almost any reason at all. In fact, I only know one person who thinks that, and he is currently leading the Taliban.
I have to mention, Emily Cooper also used the "slippery slope" argument, perhaps the worst logical fallacy ever. "Allow euthanasia, and the next thing you know everyone will be executing their family members" (visit Belgium and the Netherlands) "Allow gay marriage and the next thing people will be marrying vacuum cleaners and donkeys" (Denmark saw no rise in marriages to household devices or wild animals after legally recognizing same sex unions in 1989) "Give women the vote and the next thing you know they will be chopping men's dicks off while they are sleeping"
Ok well, forget that last one.
So please ladies especially, let me know. Am I in the wrong in this? Is the first poster genuinely offensive to the majority of women? Considering most rapists are unlikely to heed the advice of strongly worded posters, but most victims are likely to think twice after seeing one advising caution, I firmly believe removing it is basically playing into the hands of predatory men.
Women are always the victims of rape regardless of the circumstances. The problem is, most men already know it.
Anyway, to end on a positive note, I have decided to design a poster that both tells women to be careful, and also lays the blame squarely at the feet of men. I shall of course make this masterwork of digital manipulation available to all of the Police Forces in England and Wales free of charge, as a public service to women everywhere.
You are very welcome ladies. ;)
Feedback is much appreciated. I welcome insults and derogatory remarks about myself and my family (especially my big fat brother) please do not hesitate to call me a sexist prick or post dogshit to my house. If you put it in an Amazon Prime box with an iPad or an expensive laptop, I probably wont even notice until it is all over the kitchen or something.
No comments:
Post a Comment