rape culture

Miriam

SO many everyday sexist things have happened to me, from sexual assault to being threatened with rape in order to make me allow burglers to take my belongings ‘or else’, peeping toms looking in my bedroom at night as a teenager and again ain my 20s, old men perving at me when I was a school girl and trying to get me to go back to their house with them, to all the usual cat calling (less now I that I am out of my 20s and such a relief). But today is the small stuff. I belong to a small social media group for poets. The male members keep using it to share photographs of models, dancers, beautiful celebrities etc, with zero context, just an objectified body. And then the male poets fill the thread with sexist tropes about women, how utterly bewildering we are (UGH), or how beautiful they are (Ah yes the beauty pathway to peace, I’m what?). I came here for poetry, why am I constantly looking at models and celebrations of a narrow beauty ideals? I want to shout “the women in this group aren’t here for this!!!” Of course they have no idea what they are doing, not for lack of having explained it to them, they keep doing it.I am contemplating a little experiment on joining in with a daily naked man post. But – Must. Not. Lower. Self. To. Their. Level, right? I have already tried direct communication. They said it was innocent, not their intention etc, started sprinkling in some actual content, but still the model shots persist. After all the assaults and crap I have dealt with in my life, sometimes this smaller stuff leaves me feeling like I am just swimming in rape culture everywhere I go. No, women are not bewildering, men get bewildered because they aren’t taught to do feelings very well. Yes there are many traditionally beautiful bodies, and so many myriad other ways a body can be beautiful (of course they post only the thin beauty). They are our bodies though, they have agency, intelligence, desires, plans, talents, skills, interests, strength, achievements… and our beauty is the least important one of all. Sucks that society doesn’t tend to agree.

Anonymous

When discussing how disgusting it is that everybody supports famous rapist men who are Scots etc, my (now ex) friend jokingly praised him for it

Ella

I had a huge crush on a “class clown” character in my class from the beginning of secondary school. It soon became obvious to him that this was the case and he began manipulating me, making me think he liked me, making me feel stupid and fat and ugly but wanting more and more attention from him. Eventually, I became involved with one of his friends, who began emotionally abusing me (another story – he’d say he was going to kill himself every day). But the original boy kept coming to my house, began sexually assaulting me, telling me I was disgusting and going to hell because it was cheating because I didn’t tell anyone. He did this until I agreed to break up with my boyfriend and date him. He then continued to abuse me, but me over and over again to “do stuff”, telling me that if I didn’t that he’d tell everyone about my mental health issues. I reported him to the police a year later from a psychiatric unit I was sectioned into after starving myself and self harming. Nothing was done. I was still put back in the same school and classes as him. He tormented me daily, saying I’d ruin his reputation and I was a liar and that if I said anything else he would tell everyone I was crazy and on antidepressants. His friends all bullied me also, one of them spiking my drink and assaulting me at a party. They are all still living in the same town as me, walking the streets, laughing when they see me, passing me at college and work making jokes. Feeding lies into the ears of anyone I get close to. Rape culture and gang culture led these boys to stuck together in a toxic group, ruining my life. I have come out of this looking like the lesser person and he has never been happier or more popular. These boys led me to eating disorders, suicidal ideation, self harm and more. Yet to them, it is all a joke because, to them, women are lesser beings, there only for pleasure and to be used and manipulated to their will.

Angry Feminist

I work in a very well-known NGO in Lebanon, Beirut and we have “partners” from different nationalities working with us on a daily basis. On a Monday morning, I was working on a project with my co-worker and my boss was around. A French intern passed by and she had her hair done and makeup on (usually she comes to work with a bun and no makeup). My boss looked at me and my friend and said: “They come to Lebanon, wear revealing clothes and makeup and blame the taxi driver if he sexually assaulted/raped them.” P.S. An incident happened a few years ago in Lebanon where the Uber driver raped and killed a British girl on her way back to her appt. after a night out. I will always be angry at myself that I did not react the way I was supposed to.

Anon

It’s been a few times where I walk on the street and these men approach me either bumping into me as though it was an accident, or purposely coming close to me even if I try to avoid them and whisper something in my ear in another language I don’t understand. I feel angry, I feel like I should’ve done something to avoid it, but in the end I realise you can’t. It’s everyday sexism, and although I am angry about, I have to learn to accept it and live with it everyday.

Sam

I walked out of a bar with a man I’d been grinding with. He invites me to go home with him. I ask him where, then say no, because it’s far [I don’t have a car]. I invite him to my place, and say it’s only about ten/fifteen minutes walk. He wants to come, but would rather drive. Fine. I get in his car, and give him directions. He doesn’t turn when he’s supposed to. I tell him he missed the turn, and try to give new directions. It’s fine, he says. I’ll turn around at the intersection, he says. He doesn’t. I’m starting to panic. He tries to convince me to just go to his place. I say no, but he keeps driving toward it anyway. I tell him to let me out of his car, and he keeps trying to talk me into going to his place. I say no again, and he still doesn’t let me out. “Let me out right now or I am getting out of your moving car.” I’m holding my phone, ready to call 911. He slows down, and I don’t know if it was to let me out or to turn or for a stop sign or what. But it’s a safer chance to get out than I had 20 seconds ago, so I take it. The car is still moving, but I unlock the door and jump out, stumble, and run. The man is completely shocked at me. He yelled something after me, but I don’t remember what. Once I’m a couple blocks away, I see his car again, and he slows down to talk to me. He says something to try to get me to get back in. I yell no and run. He finally drives away. I call a friend and keep him on the phone, telling him where I am, until I’m back downtown again, where people are still up and around. I get home and lock the door, and let the friend know I’m home safe. I’m shaken, and it takes me a while, but eventually I calm down, and I think about how this is the world that I live in. This man refused to let me out of his car and yet thinks I’M the one whose behaviour is wrong for not still wanting to fuck him after he lied to me about where he was taking me, and for getting the hell away from him. I imagine him telling his friends about this encounter, only in his interpretation of it, I’m a crazy bitch who got out of a moving car, and worse, a tease. The next day I told one of the men I live with what happened – because we were friends or at least friendly, because I wanted to tell somewhat about what I could barely believe had happened, because he’s a man and I think men need to hear from women about how men hurt women (so that they won’t hurt women, and so they will call out other men). He criticized my judgement for going home with the man.

YAS

I was just listening to the wonderful song Timber by and realized Pitbull says the line “She says she won’t, but I bet she will.” My attention had always just glazed over that, because it’s so endemic in so much music, but that line being there is truly awful. This is rape culture.

Ida

So yesterday I went on ‘a date’ with a guy. Everything was new and cool and at the end of the day we end up at a bar full of people and with really nice vibes. But when we go to buy the drink that we were supposed to share, the bartender says in spanish “Oh I’ll put two shots in here to make her more ‘romantic’”. And in Spanish it’s hard to separate if they mean “it” as in “making the moment more romantic” or if it means “she” – as in “making her loosen up”. So I think it’s the first and I laugh. And both the guys laugh. And then after like an hour when I’m kind of drunk and have gotten closer to my date and a little touchy he says “ha, you didn’t really understand what the bartender said back there, right?.” and I told him what I thought it had meant and then he laughs and explains that it was me that was supposed to get more romantic. Because when he 5 later after buying the first drink went and bought his own, the bartender only put one shot in there. And when he told me this I just felt so betrayed and stupid that I actually became more loose and attracted to him. And all this with my history of a guy in the past actually making his way to make my drinks stonger than his and then raping me. Fuck this world. I’m so angry, sad, hurt, upset.

Fuck me

My partner’s dad asked them whether I was a lightweight or not as I was coming over for the holidays and found out that I (really) am. He laughed saying that my partner should definitely take advantage of that.

Emily

In 2015 (I was 17 at the time) I was best friends with this boy. He and I were so close, on a brotherly sisterly type level. He had confessed his romantic feelings for me in the past, but I made it clear to him that I wanted to be strictly friends and that I considered him a brother. So the summer of 2015 we get this idea to have a sleepover. I’m not talkin anything sexual in any way shape or form, when we were planning this sleepover it sounded like a good old fashioned slumber party. Both of our parents approved of it since it was clear to them we were just really good friends. We spent the beginning of the night on a blow up mattress watching a movie. Before we went to sleep I made it clear to him that nothing was going to happen, that I didn’t want anything to happen, and that he was my friend and nothing more. He agreed with me. Later, after we had fallen asleep I felt him groping me. He put his hands down my shirt and started touching my chest. He also forced his way into my pants and fingered me. He kissed me. This all started while I was asleep, there was no consent. There was no chance to give consent as I was ASLEEP. He just started touching me as he pleased like it was completely normal to do that. Waking up to him touching me made me feel physically and mentally paralyzed, I was in shock. I was frozen, couldn’t do anything couldn’t say anything. I don’t remember falling asleep, but that morning I was so nauseous. When I told him I was nauseous at first he was “helping” me by supporting my back while I sat up, but minutes later HE STARTED FINGERING ME AGAIN LIKE HE HAD DONE THAT PREVIOUS NIGHT. JUST HELPED HIMSELF. That’s when I ran to the bathroom and puked. I’ve tried telling the police about it but they were biased as my abuser’s dad works for the police department in my town. The police officer I spoke with basically told me I was asking for it and should’ve been more careful about the situation I put myself in. -.- I know…absolutely revolting isn’t it