Doing Feminism

Here’s another post from my blog for my Feminism and Sexual Assault class. My conclusion is a bit polemical, I think, so feel free to critique it. I think these are some very important questions, though.

Discussion in class this week has been extremely interesting, to say the least. Sharon Marcus in particular stirred up a significant bit of controversy with her Fighting Bodies, Fighting Words: A Theory and Politics of Rape Prevention, namely her assertion that women can prevent rape by interrupting the rape script - that is, learning the script and learning when and how to interrupt it. Women can do this, she argues, by acting aggressively, by utilising their “will, agency, and capacity for violence,” things the rape script leaves out by constructing women as passive and subjects of fear, not violence.

The solution seems like a good one, especially considering the statement in her conclusion, “we will be waiting for a very long time if we wait for men to decide not to rape.” Her words ring true: Unless a significant other, daughter, or other woman close to a man is (knowingly) at risk of being raped, the majority of men have no vested interest in ending a problem that keeps men in power by subjugating women through fear.

That said, when Marcus speaks of “a narrative of rape, a series of steps and signals whose typical initial moments we can learn to recognize and whose final outcome we can learn to stave off,” I become wary. The implication is that there are steps to a rape that are, if not identical, then similar, and that women can learn this and thereby successfully avoid rape. Women must disrupt the rape script by becoming agents rather than passive victims.

Is this victim-blaming? Of course it is. The message is that if you’re about to be raped and don’t act, you will be raped because you didn’t act, because you didn’t do The Right Thing. Nevertheless, it’s also possibly the most realistic approach to rape prevention I’ve come across.

With the current state of matters, the best solution may be for women to become violent, assertive, and to utilise their strength. Such a strategy acts as a prevention to both stranger and acquaintance rape. Until the rape epidemic is brought to a halt, it’s an imperfect solution, but a solution nonetheless.

This strategy would, arguably, prevent individual rapes from happening and may even bring down the rates of sexual assault, but it is by no means a solution. Women as a whole, generalised group, cannot be made to be responsible for bringing an end to rape. Men, while ultimately responsible, refuse to be held accountable. I argue, then, that it is feminists’ responsibility to end rape.

If men do not acknowledge their role in ending sexual violence, then feminists must bear the task rather than continue to insist that it is, in fact, the responsibility of men. We’re aware of the magnitude of the problem. Marcus points out that law fails to prevent rape; rather, law deals with rape after it has already occurred. A solution, then, is a push for further education and a firm contestation of rape culture. Men will, in my mind, stop raping women when they’re educated about rape and when sexual violence ceases to be glorified and eroticised.

For my class on sexual assault, I have to keep a blog, along with the rest of the class. We’re supposed to keep them private, so I can’t link you to it, but I’ll share things periodically from there. This is my most recent post.

There’s a lot of talk on the rest of the blogs for this class about what is and isn’t effective in regard to women protecting themselves against sexual assault. Some have argued that an emphasis on self-defense is problematic, where others have supported the idea of women taking up self-defense as a means to protecting themselves. At least one other person has expressed frustration at the lack of options available for women to protect themselves against sexual assault.

I think there’s a lot of differing views, first of all, because encouraging women to protect themselves can take the form of victim blaming. If someone is going to emphasise that women must protect themselves from sexual assault, context and substance are everything. If someone is going to be like the police and tell women they should be locking their doors and windows at night, well they can fuck right off. Not only is this often not helpful, but it indirectly pushes the idea that women haven’t heard this bullshit a million times before. Of course, as was brought up in class, advice like this also insinuates that if only women would follow this advice, or do the Right Thing, they wouldn’t be raped. Lovely, isn’t it?

Women aren’t responsible for protecting themselves or preventing rape; rather, it’s up to men, the perpetrators. That said, though, we still live in a society that condones sexualised violence, and, as such, I can understand women wanting to take precautions - I would. Personally, I think self-defense is a good idea. Telling women they should be taking self-defense classes is a bad one. It seems logical to me, though, that if women learn to fight sexual offenders, men might be slightly more hesitant about committing the assault. I must stress, though, that I by no means mean the responsibility of stopping rape lies in the hands of women. Rather, I think women who want to try to protect themselves should look to learning some basic self-defense, most importantly learning how to utilise the strength they have already. I don’t see what can be problematic about this, but I might be overlooking something as well.

Ultimately, though, as I mentioned earlier, it’s up to men to end sexual assault. Not only choosing not to assault women, but men have to educate other men about sexual assault. There are a number of things men can do, from calling out sexist behaviour to refusing to remain friends with a sexual offender. The list is huge, but that’s for another post, I think.

Despite the public’s best efforts to tell women how to protect themselves, rates of sexual assault aren’t going down, so obviously women simply aren’t cluing in. Perhaps the solution is to push these messages wherever and whenever possible, like television advertisements repeating over and over. So, here’s are nine tips on how you can prevent your own rape and sexual assault, women.

1. Lock your doors and windows. I thought you were doing this already, but if the police are pushing this advice, obviously it’s not being done, right?

2. Never go out alone at night. If you must, though, avoid walking near bushes, alleys, open windows, or under trees. Rapists are unpredictable and will jump out from where you least expect it.

3. Avoid revealing clothing in public places. Large baggy sweaters and sweatpants are suggested. Especially in bars/clubs.

4. Wear an extremely comfortable anti-rape device right up your vagina. Despite the rumours, these won’t limit you from your usual daily activities in any way.

5. If you live alone, don’t let a rapist discover this. Use your imagination to create a party scene in your living room, like Macaulay Culkin did in Home Alone.

6. Rapists often strike at night, so consider becoming nocturnal. If you must sleep at night don’t wear pyjamas. A space suit is recommended.

7. Don’t wear perfume. Perfume attracts rapists and will draw them out of their natural hiding places, mentioned earlier.

8. Avoid eye contact. Eye contact in body language means “yes.” Invest in a pair of dark sunglasses or constantly look at the ground.

9. Don’t be a woman. Get a sex change. Never mind the Loony Left’s assertions that transgender violence is extremely high. It’s a myth.

And that’s it. Follow this advice and the rates of sexual assault are bound to go down! And never mind your intuition, common sense, or comprehensive studies; these tips are sure to help. And remember, rapists: It’s not your fault the patriarchy teaches you to sexually assault women. Women just need to do a better job of protecting themselves!

Note: If, by some miracle, the sarcasm was lost, then let me assure you this post was written sarcastically. Victim blaming is a serious issue and I wanted to demonstrate how absurd it can be. I don’t know any women who don’t already think they should lock their doors at night, yet this is the only advice police, newspapers, and so on, continue to give out. Like this post, their advice is absurd and unhelpful.

Courtesy Vue Weekly

With another attack on a woman (this time in Aspen Gardens), it appears the Garneau rapist still insists on exerting his power over women. According to police, the 68-year-old woman was assaulted while at home, alone. Cue the all-too-predictable warnings directed at women to “lock their doors” and “take precautions.” I think these people need to read some Team Rainbow.

Of the articles I’ve seen on the rapes, though, this one caught my attention. (Note: I’ve emailed and received a reply from Ben Gelinas, the author, and at the very least, he claims he’ll take my comments into consideration in the future.) While the (surprise!) victim-blaming was there, Ben also took to labeling the Garneau Sisterhood’s posters as “threatening” and quoted Det. Melanie Grace as accusing the Garneau Sisterhood of vigilantism.

Say what now?

I realise I haven’t mentioned the Garneau Sisterhood here before, and that’s a terrible fault of mine. From an article in Vue Weekly:

Garneau Sisterhood is a group of fiesty concerned citizens in the Garneau area and the larger Edmonton community who are organizing and mobilizing to catch the most recent serial rapist in the neighbourhood, challenge the culture of violence and reclaim safe spaces for women in their communities.

They sound like a real threat, don’t they? I mean, so much that Ben had to go out of his way to discredit them. I sure don’t know why anyone would want a group going around trying to collect information the police aren’t releasing, aim to stop rape culture, and create safe spaces for women. Oh, the nerve of the Sisterhood. Good thing we’ve got people like Ben and Melanie to warn us about them and to tell women to protect themselves! (No worries, men, rape apologists, and the Garneau rapist, you’re all off the hook. Live how you like!)

In all seriousness, though, we need people like those behind the Sisterhood to take action, and we need to support them. The messages women get bombarded with when women are sexually assaulted and raped aren’t going away anytime soon, and they certainly aren’t helping matters. The messages the Sisterhood puts out help counteract, them, though - from warning men about the rapist to asserting the offenders are to blame, not the survivors - help fight rape culture and, as a result, help women.

I’ve said it before: It is not the responsibility of women to protect themselves. Rapists may commit the action, but the rape culture is to blame, and men perpetuate it. Men are the ones who rape women, and while women also rape men, (and there is same sex rape) it is to a far lesser extent, and something that is not encouraged in our culture the way the rape of women is. We must stop telling women to protect themselves, because it does nothing to solve the issue. Men do not deserve pats on the back for not raping women when they had the chance. This should be expected behaviour, as should working to end rape. Any man who looks for a pat on the back should have his intentions put into question and taught about why stopping rape isn’t about him.

Until more men clue in, though, we’ve got people like those behind the Garneau Sisterhood. If you have any information about the rapes that have been taking place (or maybe just want to offer them some supportive words), you can email them at garneau(dot)sisterhood(at)gmail(dot)com.