Oh yeah, definitely. Seriously, you know I never anything like that anywhere. This thread is about promoting an event that aims to combat rape culture and to promote recognition of the distinction between assailants and victims. As far as I'm concerned, this has nothing to do with telling people how to dress or behave. Rape is a serious matter, contrary to the majority opinion here. There continues to be this delusion that I'm telling girls and women to dress a certain way. See my response to Hummingbird above for some correction on this. The point of Slut Walk is to identify with the victims of rape, not to tell people what their lifestyle choices should be. It is about combating rape by refocusing the debate on the assailants, not on how the victims choose to dress or act in general. Even the civil libertarian American Civil Liberties Union disagrees with your assessment and characterizes the VAWA this way, quote: "VAWA is one of the most effective pieces of legislation enacted to end domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. It has dramatically improved the law enforcement response to violence against women and has provided critical services necessary to support women and children in their struggle to overcome abusive situations." Source. Furthermore, the fact of the matter is that men are not as often the victims of domestic violence so much as the assailants. Men of course need the protection of law as well, but women require special protections, especially when it comes to sexual violence. For example, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 99% of sexual assaults that occur in this country are conducted by men and 91% of the victims are female. (Even most sexual violence directed against men is conducted by other men, not by women.) Even with these "draconian" measures in place, the reality of the matter is that, according to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, 15 of every 16 rapists will never spend a day in jail. You say I am "trivializing the definition of domestic violence". I say you're not taking domestic violence, especially rape, seriously!! Actually, according to UN Women, it does. Frankly, I am quite certain that many perfectly qualified women are being systematically denied access to certain jobs, especially in government. Actually, I dispute this. Contrary to the opinion of many, I'm not a sexist. I think basically men see sex as the validation of their masculinity and, as such, are under immense social pressure from other men to have sex often and to constantly display a desire for sex. That's a cultural situation that can be changed, not a biological trait that can't be.
This is nothing more than theater and unfortunately diminishes the seriousness of Rape and Sexual Assault. I certainly understand the point and the message, but this is silly and completely pointless. We ALL agree that people "should" not be judged by outward appearances, but the key word is "should". If she is dressed that way - where is she going? Reason would dictate we could rule out, church, work, baby sitting, picking up the kids from school, or a host of other places places. There is a point as to why she dresses that way and where she might be going and what her expectations and intentions are. I am the FIRST to agree she is NOT asking to be RAPED, but I am also reasonably sure that sexual activity or arousing sexual feelings in others is on her mind. This is not only beyond dumb, but it is a double standard that promotes a simple and illogical view of Don't Judge me if I want to Look and Act like a Slut , because I am not one. I feel really sorry for the victims of rape and sexual assault, if this is there representation. I am all for free speech and have no issues with the Slut Walk. I just think it is stupid and absurd and certainly not putting the best interest of the victims first. It's more about WOMAN POWER and sticking it to the MAN!
I know that. I disagree with them, your appeal to their alleged authority notwithstanding. Note their official position does not say anything about the civil rights of the accused. And, note their statement also states it has improved law enforcement response to "violence against women." This statement certainly in no way refutes my argument that the Act marginalizes male victims of violence. I disagree. As of the year 2000, the Department of Justice found that 40% of all victims of domestic violence were men. Source. That number has been steadily growing. Steadily growing despite legislation like VAWA, which predispose law enforcement to see the male as the aggressor. Male victims drastically underreport their crimes, and the plethora of services, and indeed the culture that has arisen around female victimhood makes them less likely to do so. Gee, thanks... Separating sexual violence from plain violence is a red herring, in fact it's the red herring in this discussion. Men are far more likely to be victims of violence in general, yet "services" for those victims are drastically less. Is sexual assault about sex or violence? Feminists say it's not about sex, but that position should result in it being lumped in with the remainder of violent crime. Getting a percentage of convictions/punishments (a percentage created by a rape-law lobby's definition of rape) does not in any way justify Constitutional violations against the accused, like rape shield laws. Justice is not determined by conviction percentages. Taking it seriously requires justice for all involved. Appeal to authority again? How does the gender of someone in the criminal justice system relate to their ability to carry out their job? On the basis of gender? Nonsense. I believe in a previous post in this thread I already linked to a study showing that, in fact, our excessive sex drive is a biological trait. I won't deny there are social elements to our sex drive, for sure. I think the fact that our society is conditioned to see those sexual urges as a joke, or something women are supposed to toy with, certainly causes a lot of friction. Also, the sense in society that women are not to display any sexual urges harms relationships.
I had a girl half naked when she asked if I thought that she was a slut so I told that sure hoped she was.
I agree. "I can dress however I want!!!!" Yeah? Tell that to your employer. What, you can't, because your employer has a dress code, and you need to follow it to keep your job? Well then, it seems we understand and acknowledge that clothing needs to be appropriate for a given situation.
So what's the reason that the 9% male victims are to be taken less serious, gthan the 91% which should be protected by special laws? So, when I give you districts in which only 20% of homicides ends with the imprisonment of the murderer, what's the consequence? To look which groups committ most of the homicides and took away some civil rights from them and giving the groups of the victims some special laws protecting them? By the way I seriously doubt that men will report such attacks that often. No one would deny that homicide is propably the most terrible crime, but no one demands to give up civil rights for that. Most Women's Rights Activist demand this selectively for men. I don't know how to end rape as I don't know how to end murder, crime in general, war or tsunamis. I nevertheless prefer a state with civil rights despite of murder, rape and all the other bad things in the world. First, whoever demands special laws for women or men based only on the gender of the individual is exactly that what Womens Rights Activist would call a sexist, if it was the other way around they are demanding it. Second point, yes you are right, there is social pressure, but there is a biological influence as well .
I agree. What scares me more than any crime or other threat is the threat of the government's power being used to harm innocent people.
Ok...last night I witnessed something that pertained to this thread. I found myself at a bar, in the middle of a good ole fashioned attentionseeking slut off where I was a guy being used for lapdances by one group competing against another group doing the same thing to another guy. It was the weirdest thing I've ever witnessed but rocked at the same time.... but, the point I'm making is during said slut off, one girl in the other group was in a very short white dress and cowboy boots, everytime she did anything, much less dance, you saw her panties... while she was bumping and grinding onher guy, she moved to let her friend get on him and a random guy in the crowd fingered her while she wasn't looking from behind. And of course noone could figure out who it was. She got super offended and complained to security, but continued on eventually with her dancing. Basically, what I saw happen was her going "I'm a slut I'm a slut I'm a slut. DONT TREAT ME LIKE A SLUT, I'm a slut Im a slut" Did she deserve to be assaulted? No Are we surprised it happened......I'm not. We even had to control one guy on one of the girls in my group. She had a friend intercept a guy who was told no by one of the girls, but he kept coming back to try and get grinded on when he couldn't take the hint Fwiw, my girl lost said slut off, but I still had a good time...>:-]
The police gives advices concerning any other crime as well. How to lower the risk to be victims of street gangs, how to lower the risk to be robbed, how to avoid that the people steal from you. Only women's rights activists see such advices as the blaming of the victims (only with regard to male on female crimes, anything else they do not care about, because it's not useful for the war they want to lead), complain about such advices and demand instead an change of the burden of proof if the accused is a male.
Girl was putting it out there....and someone took it.... the gguy(who noone really knew who) was a sleazebag wanting a cheap feel and got it. He wasn't right, but when you mix slurry dressed women being provacative, testosterone and alcohol....women lose because they are more vulnerable.
I really think that women should have modesty and respect for their bodies. You really think men will not stare at her if she shows some skin? Don't be naive. A woman should do it for herself! By doing that, she is "preserving" her love and respect for her body and self, spiritually and mentally. If a woman tells you that the reason she dresses like a slut is because she is confident, then what happens to her confidence when she covers herself up? Is her confidence gone? Also, this goes for men as well. There is absolutely no reason to rape or assault a woman because of the way she dresses. If she really wants it, she''s ask for it. Or, you can do the honors and "ask" her and wait for her reply. If you do anything against her consent, you are guilty to me!
I am just waiting for someone to suggest these "Slut Walks" are subsidized by some socially aware government sponsored program. Maybe our tax payer money could buy "slut costumes" for those that want to "wake up" America to the great injustice done to "Sluts (or those wanting to look like sluts)".
Here's a good, recent article that defends the Slut Walk movement. It's a worldwide, sex-positive movement against rape and the largest movement against rape in history. Take a read and see what you think. Just wanted to add something new and different to this so far one-sided thread.
To be fair I think the largest movement against rape was the introduction of the chastity belt. I could be wrong though.
Thank you. I named myself "Minx", as in, according to my handy dictionary, "a pert, saucy or flirtatious girl". My avatar goes along with my user name. Let's face it, political web forums can be pretty boring places. Might as well spice it up a little, I figured. Not that this has anything to do with the topic at hand.
What a silly cause. No one is telling any woman they can't wear whatever they want. It's simply a percaution. If you wear slutty close you're going to get treated like a slut by trashy men. If you want a respectable guy then wear respectable clothes. Maybe I've been burned by too many slutty girls. But if I see a girl in short shorts and a skimpy top I'm more likely to turn the other direction. I much prefer intelligent and respectable women. Not prudes by any means. I like sex as much as any other guy. But respectable.
What a ridiculous "movement". All they are proving is that they are failing to calmly and rationally digest the information that is being given to them. Nobody is trying to take away their rights to dress like a filthy whore. They were merely given a suggestion not unlike a black man telling white supremacists that while it's certainly within their rights to wear a white hooded kkk sheet while walking through the streets of Watts, Compton, or the Bronx, refraining from doing so will increase their chances of avoiding a gunshot to their brain. These "women" remind me of how a 13 year old girl would act after her father tells her to dress more appropriately. "Special" females these slut-walkers are...
You have none. Many rapists frequently are looking for victims who are not sophisticated, not willing to be assertive against unwanted intrusion in order to gain access to her and get her into a compromising-looking situation from which he will then do violence, but count on her embarrassment to not call for help or press charges against him. Dressing provocatively is the opposite of that, and a woman learns quickly to be very assertive against all the a$$holes who forget civilized civilized manners. Although I guess it is understandable these jerks feel OK about their bad behavior since so many here like to blame their bad behavior as "correct" towards a woman who is NOT dressed with "proper modesty"! Perhaps you should study up on issues before you accuse people of not having "sense".
