Sunday morning, two teenagers from Steubenville, Ohio were found guilty of raping a 16-year-old classmate. Trent Mays and Ma’lik Richmond were sentenced to serve in the state juvenile system for at least two years and one year, respectively. Unfortunately but unsurprisingly, the public reaction to the verdict only reinforces the culture of victim-blaming and rape apology that most of us know all too well.
[Trigger warnings for discussion of rape and victim blaming]
We’ve curated some of the public’s responses to the verdict to illustrate how rape culture is alive and well and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Although these are far from the worst examples of what’s being said, be warned that most of them are horrible. All quotes and screencaps were from publicly accessible websites and none were taken using any means to thwart privacy settings.
From Twitter:
Meanwhile, CNN itself is awfully concerned about what the guilty verdict means for the “promising futures” of Mays and Richmond. (Raw Story)
Victim blaming is alive and well, folks, and it’s pretty gross. Fortunately, for every victim-blaming, rape culture-perpetuating comment, there seems to be at least ten comments on the other side, condemning the guilty parties, the “football culture,” the rape apologists, and the atmosphere of victim blaming. So there may be some hope after all.
I don’t think I’ve ever been more glad that “never read the comments” has never applied to P-Mag. If you’ll excuse me, I need to cuddle some puppies and forget about humanity for a little while.
24 replies on “The Steubenville Verdict: Rape Culture? What Rape Culture?”
I saw this on tumblr this morning:
Jane Doe has asked that anyone wishing to make donations do so to her local women’s shelter: http://ywcawheeling.org/madden-house-donations/
More information: http://callingoutbigotry.tumblr.com/post/45744293167/hot-for-myself-steubenvilles-jane-doe-asked-people-to
UNICORN ARMY, ACTIVATE.
I’ve been following this on HuffPo. It’s always fun to call out the victim blamers.
I’ve been ranting at my mother all day and she is the source of all my liberal/feminist leanings so she agrees with me. She just knows when it’s best to let me rant and rave.
I’ve surprisingly seen nothing on my Facebook feed defending the rapists (probably because I’ve hidden or deleted a bunch of people from the last election) but I will go mother of dragons on anyone who even hints they feel sympathy for the perpetrators and not the victim.
I hate everyone and everything, present company excluded.
I could not even finish that. I just blanked out and came to in the safe-P-mag comment section. It makes me feel like crying in the shower, or cuddling a kitty under the blankets (consensually, of course), or not ever moving away from my adorably liberal bastion in New England.
I always thought that CNN was the place you could go to for pretty unbiased (of course it’s never completely unbiased) and well-thought-through news. This is really disappointing.
Of course, why am I focusing on that while we’re talking about rape but ..all has been said.
Even the people who think they’re being respectful fall prey to the “but…”
“Rape is wrong but….”
“The boys should have known better but…”
“The situation is horrible but…”
I just can’t read comment sections anymore. It’s like being victimized all over again.
The one that really gets me is the ‘why does everyone want to teach not to rape’ because its insulting to men. But I have no problem believing that guy thinks that girl shouldn’t have been drinking and that she put herself ‘at risk’ by hanging around with rapists.
But god forbid we make some boy feel bad by telling them the obvious — don’t rape anyone, ever.
There are some things that should make a person feel bad.
Do these people not have sisters, mothers, girlfriends, wives, daughters, sons, aunts, uncles, friends?
Is there some sort of secret Internet points system for who can say the “edgiest” comment about things NORMAL DECENT HUMAN BEING SHOULD CARE ABOUT?
What the everloving hopping fuck is wrong with people?
I interacted with the person who posted the Jezebel comments. The more I pushed back on her — and yes, it was a her — the more she backpeddled. So I definitely think that there’s an element of ‘lol, edgy’ going on. As well as a heft does of just world fallacy.
Those people are scarier to me than those who legitimately believe that the girl is to blame. Those are lost to sane society. The others balance on a horrible edge.
i will turn around and hulk smash everything you love right this instant
Digging through twitter and the comment sections of the other sites made me want to throw up. I was going to include more, but I had to stop before my brain exploded from rage and frustration. And there were so many that were so much more horrifying than this. So many.
You know what happens when one girl doesn’t “put herself in danger”? That just leaves the rapist to go rape somebody else. There will ALWAYS be somebody vulnerable. Telling victims to change their behavior does not stop a rape from happening – it just stops the rape from happening to HER. The only way to stop a rape from happening is to STOP THE RAPIST FROM RAPING.
YOU ARE SO VERY CORRECT.
Clearly, the message is that if you have a vagina, you’re like a steak in shark-infested waters.
I do admire the handful of men I’ve seen comment on this who clearly know that RAPE IS WRONG. ALL THE FUCKING TIME.
I have been ranting about this for four days. Plus side, my cats are well-versed in the existence of rape culture.
You cats are now better educated and probably better company than most people.
THIS A THOUSAND TIMES.
I’m totally using that because it succinctly says what I’ve tried to put into words for a long time.
Oh fucking hell, people.
A teenage girl going to a party and drinking (don’t give me any of that “what was she thinking, drinking underage” bull, that’s been a thing for teenagers to do since alcohol was invented) is not the same as a slutty teenage slut looking to slut. Even if she agreed to (wanted to, initiated) a make-out session, she did not agree to being carried from house to house and raped by people she didn’t know. I don’t recall whether there were drugs involved (i.e., something put in her drink so she would be complaint and wouldn’t remember), but even if she drank too much, she wasn’t giving everyone present a free pass to do what they wanted to her. These boys committed rape and assault, and SHOULD be punished. More than they are being punished. And the conversation about rape prevention meaning teaching people NOT TO RAPE needs to continue and spread and, hopefully, someday, be the default. Not don’t get raped; don’t rape.
::kicks things::
FEH, my comment didn’t post, just the image.
Well, that image is for the commenters who think that it’s reasonable to judge and punish a victim but cry over punishing rapists because they’re young. Yeah, they’re young enough to learn NOT TO RAPE PEOPLE.
I hate everything.
(except P-Mag)
Jesus, that’s sickening. I’m bookmarking this for the next moron I know who tries to claim that there is not such thing as rape culture or victim blaming.