The feminist who created an unforgettable fashion statement with her "I had an abortion" T-shirt back in 2004 is at it again.
Jennifer Baumgardner's latest, tasteless T-shirt creation bears the message "I was raped". The New York Times darling created the top to raise awareness about the issue in conjunction with her Scarleteen, "Sex Ed for the Real World" project, here.
Hattip: here in The New York Times
For $25, victims of rape can wear their wounds and this logo:
Some activists will do anything, and use anyone, to keep their names in the news. This is a sad commentary on their narcissism and the media that accommodates it.
(c) 2008 Marybeth T. Hagan
For more posts, please see my blog: http://www.mothermayibeborn.com
The Department of Justice needs to create a special department within itself that spcecifically focuses on sexual assault and rape investigations. Just like the Justice Department has the Drug Enforcement Agency for illegal narcotics investigations, it needs to have a special department for sexual assault and rape investigations. Present statistics are a s follows: An average of 1 in 6 women report being raped every year. However, seeing as how most rapes are not reported, it is estimated that actually 1 in 4 women are raped every year. And, in the rape cases that are reported, the conviction rate is about 5 or 6 percent. That is a deplorable conviction rate! I believe this low conviction rate is why many women don't report their rapes. They know there will probably be no conviction, so why bother? If men were being raped with such frequency and the conviction rate was that low, I believe most of the Justice Department's investigative resources would be geared toward bringing those rapists to justice. I believe that if the Department of Justice created a special agency for investigating sexual assault and rape, state and local law enforcement agencies would follow suit, just as they have done with illegal narcotics investigations (i.e. the drug task-forces they have set up). Think of a woman in your life; your mother, daughter, wife, sister, aunt, niece, etc. In our society today, she stands a very good chance of being raped and very little chance of being served any justice for that rape. And rape murders the souls. The Department of Justice should do much more to stop sexual assault and rape.
This is all from the Department of Narcissism. For the Me Generation, nothing is too private to shout from the rooftops.
While having been raped is surely nothing to be ashamed of (unlike choosing to kill your baby then bragging about it with a t-shirt), it's also *personal*. It's not something you start conversations with unless you're in group therapy or at some sort of special event addressing sexual assault.
Think of it -- who would wear a t-shirt that says, "Ask me about my colostomy" or "I wear bladder control briefs"? Just because something isn't anything to be ashamed of doesn't make it something you print across your chest!
Having survived a rape and beating that nearly ended my life and left me traumatised for years, I say that this project that will bring rape out of the shadows is long over due.
while rape may not be a pretty subject it is a fact of life for most women (having happened or having the possibility hanging over their lives). It is a subject that needs to be talked about and without some sort of sugar coating.
If these shirts stat only one conversation that enlightens one person to the reality of rape and those that have survived one then kudos to the person that came up withthe idea.
To the person that thinks that a rape survivor should not be talking about their rape unless it is in some sort of threapy session... get over your discomfort stop perpetuating the concept that the victim of the rape should "keep" it to herself and not speak of her shame in public.
the shirts may also show that the sheer numberof women and some men that have lived through these assualts is mind blowing and that their are very few of us that do not know someone close tous that has survived but kept it secret. Just maybe it will raise attention and more women will feel able to come forward.
Of course if rape were to become a open disscussion topic then it could not be the boogeyman it is now, used to keep women constrained out of fear and shame. That is what this survivor of rape feels is the real motivation that the original blogger of this subject holds in the disaproval of the concept behind the shirts. But that is just me you know the person who ended up witht he broken jaw the broken ribs the anus and vagina that had to be stitched back together the eyes swollen shut for days and the overwhelming fear and pain that stays for years.