Ha, well, I was feeling pretty self-conscious about that Isaac Brock post! It was rough. Then, I clicked on the links in Smadin's comment! Specifically, a link to a post by Jaclyn Friedman on the Yes Means Yes! Blog.
So, apparently, Ben Roethlisberger, a football player, has been accused of rape. When the woman who accused him reported this to her boss, he apparently told her that "most girls would feel lucky to get to have sex with someone like Ben Roethlisberger." (See also, this statement about the Isaac Brock incident, by Pete Ritchey of Up Records: "It's not like he had to make somebody have sex with him. He could have sex with anybody he wanted. [The Stranger] were like sharks going after him." ) And then, there's this:
*FOR THOSE WHO REQUIRE AN EXPLANATION: The Don't Give Isaac Brock Money game has to do, not solely with the fact that he was accused of rape, but with his complicity in creating rape culture in his statements after the fact, or lack thereof, especially his statements about how he USED to be an anti-rape activist, but now he knows that WOMEN LIE, and he has been HOUNDED and BETRAYED and THE POLICE KNEW SHE WAS MAKING IT UP and maybe it's unclear how exactly he's been ruined by this given that he is still a FAMOUS ROCK STAR, but whatever. The narrative we accept is that the accused is the victim and the accuser is the victimizer, and this is is how rape culture works, and Isaac Brock is participating. Give the dude your cash, if you feel like his vocals are awesome enough to serve as an excuse.
So, apparently, Ben Roethlisberger, a football player, has been accused of rape. When the woman who accused him reported this to her boss, he apparently told her that "most girls would feel lucky to get to have sex with someone like Ben Roethlisberger." (See also, this statement about the Isaac Brock incident, by Pete Ritchey of Up Records: "It's not like he had to make somebody have sex with him. He could have sex with anybody he wanted. [The Stranger] were like sharks going after him." ) And then, there's this:
And now, as these details emerge, ESPN has instructed its entire team of reporters to not report any of this information. [Update: ESPN may be easing its ban, but it's still unclear how much and what will be reported.] Yes, the same network whose sideline reporter is currently being exploited all over the ‘net in a peeping tom video. You’d think that would make them more sympathetic to the sexual exploitation of women just trying to do their job, but they’re too focused on protecting access to the star athletes who are their cash cows to even do their basic job as journalists. That’s rape culture. When our media won’t talk about rape, people think it doesn’t happen, and the rapists face no consequences.YEP! The Brock post stands.
*FOR THOSE WHO REQUIRE AN EXPLANATION: The Don't Give Isaac Brock Money game has to do, not solely with the fact that he was accused of rape, but with his complicity in creating rape culture in his statements after the fact, or lack thereof, especially his statements about how he USED to be an anti-rape activist, but now he knows that WOMEN LIE, and he has been HOUNDED and BETRAYED and THE POLICE KNEW SHE WAS MAKING IT UP and maybe it's unclear how exactly he's been ruined by this given that he is still a FAMOUS ROCK STAR, but whatever. The narrative we accept is that the accused is the victim and the accuser is the victimizer, and this is is how rape culture works, and Isaac Brock is participating. Give the dude your cash, if you feel like his vocals are awesome enough to serve as an excuse.
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So, I actually saw the Roethlisberger article today! I almost missed it, because it was in the sports section of the paper (which, um, huh? He's a sports guy, but it's a legal/human-right issue, surely...), but fortunately it was on the BACK PAGE of the section, which means I saw the headline when I turned it over.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the real reason I wanted to comment was to say I fucking hate the "well, he's hot/famous/rich/wev, so you couldn't possibly NOT WANT sex with him, and even if you didn't, his bestowing it upon you is a PRIVILEGE ANYWAY" meme. Hatehatehate it.
Also, this: "The narrative we accept is that the accused is the victim and the accuser is the victimizer, and this is is how rape culture works" is super-true and articulate and eloquently expressed. And FILLS ME WITH RAGE.
[Addendum: In The Dorian Mode is my theatre blog, which I haven't updated in months. But anonymous and my google account don't seem to be working, so...yeah.]
Tangential, but have you ever encountered a line along the lines of, "You? Look at you, you're not sexy at all. So you should be grateful that the man deigned to touch you, because no self-respecting man would want to have sex with you."? Just wondering. It's sort of like a flipside version of the "Well he's hot, you should be grateful to have sex with him." And then, if the rapist is hot and the victim's not, oh, it gets so good!
ReplyDeleteI wish this particular thing I just mentioned, I wish it got more attention. Because until I started thinking about it, there was one fucked up part of me that would wish to be raped only because I bought into the "Rape as an Act of Attraction" bullshit, and I felt unattractive, and yeah. Perhaps you could do a post on it?