During class today, I felt that the conversation that we had was very important that we were able to cover what “no means no” and “yes means yes” actually is. I found that many points that were brought up are extremely valid and those points are also introducing the idea that the line is very, very thin when it comes to many things in regards to rape.
When it comes to gender differences, I believe that there are a lot of misconstrued language barriers between men and women and what exactly each of those mean. I believe that women, especially young women are in stages in their life during college that they are insecure so they wouldn’t want to come across as prude or turn down “that one football player.” According to the New York Times article I posted, the girl could be asking for a “social suicide.” So I do believe that many young women can find themselves in a poor position and will want to consider their reputation as well. However, it is also very sad when young women do not say no and do not put up a fight if they are put into a bad situation. With saying all this, there are so many fine lines and struggles that occur in the lives of young women that it is hard to know where to stand. Young women face so much criticism about body images, what clothes they wear and buy, who they are dating, who their friends are. With all of this going on, imagine how hard it is for a young girl to be lead on by a football player or a frat boy that has a “nice” reputation and then get raped by them. Can you imagine the psychological problems that the girl is then going through?
During class when we were talking about the practices that we don’t practice as well as we should, one thing I wanted to make clear was let people know that there are so many barriers that are placed between the rape itself and then trying to persuade a young woman to go to the police to report the rape that happened. Plus, Pullman police are so focused on issuing out MIP’s and DUI’s that rape doesn’t even seem like it’s on their radar. Plus, people appear very scared of them. Pullman police a d their reputation and how they present themselves is very unwelcoming and the last thing anyone wants to go do is go up to these police officers, while you are drunk and say you you have been raped. Like seriously? Not many girls will be able to do that, because rape isn’t just scarring, but can be embarrassing. Another factor, like I mentioned earlier is the psychological damage that women have already been through. It's all traumatizing. Like when I am out and about at night, going to the bars I usually try to stay with a group of people, majority my boyfriend and a close group of guy friends. This way I do feel safe and I know I have people looking out for me. However, this is not available for everyone.
When it comes to rape, I have a hard time finding words for how frustrating it is that so many cases go without being reported. If we as a society, could build a better system for young women and their safety, and if they do get raped, what can we do to help them feel less like a victim and more like a fighter? How can we value the person and seek justice, while we still find the evidence to convict the perpetrator? Rape in the American Society is so flawed that we have a long ways to go before we start finding some justice.
No comments:
Post a Comment