Objectifying women

[tavarish]

And that's the point. The clothes don't matter. Just being a woman is enough.

When recounting what happened to me, I've been asked 'well, why were you there in the first place?' and had it heavily implied 'that's what you get for acting like a man'.

That's a pretty fucked up way of assessing the situation.

By claiming a woman bears some responsibility for what happened, what you are doing is justifying the rape and absolving the rapist of some level of blame. It's saying that it's a lesser crime to rape a woman in sexy clothes than it is to rape a woman in ugly clothes. It's saying that it is more understandable to rape a woman in high heels than it is to rape a woman in sneakers.

And this is exactly what people are not saying in this thread. What me and others are saying is that women who wear revealing clothing may attract attention, and should safeguard against any ill that can happen from this. Some is unavoidable, but that doesn't mean all of it is.

Just because people die in car accidents everyday doesn't mean you shouldn't wear your seat belt.

The only person with any level of control over whether or not an attempt at rape occurs is the rapist. Thus the only person who bears any level of responsibility for the rape is the rapist.

That doesn't mean that you can't have control over the situation should it occur. This is why safeguarding against and diffusing issues is key.

I should be allowed to wear sexy clothes on my way home from a party at night without fear. It is not my behavior that needs to change, but the behavior of the rapist. I did not incite the rape.

Yes you should. Unfortunately we don't live in a fantasy world where no one gets hurt. It's not your fault if something happens to you, but more often than not, there are ways of avoiding situations and staying alert to your surroundings. That's the only thing I'm talking about.