The Rise In "Rape Talk"

[Kristy]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...e-of-rape-talk

He was given every chance to apologise. But on the Today programme yesterday, the world heavyweight champion, David Haye, seemed unrepentant. On Tuesday, publicising his upcoming bout against Audley Harrison, he promised to "violate" his opponent, adding that the match would be as "one-sided as a gang rape". A wave of criticism crashed over him, and on Thursday, when asked by a Today presenter whether he would like to issue a mea culpa, and address his allusions to rape, Haye ducked the question and simply offered this strange explanation: "You'll have to wait and see the fight first," he said, "I'm talking about the one-sidedness of the fight." He wasn't actually going to gang rape Harrison, he added, which was certainly good to know.

By dodging an apology, Haye implied he hadn't said anything wrong, that there was no need to express regret; indeed, earlier this week he tweeted: "If I apologised for every stupid/ignorant thing I said, I wouldn't have time for anything else during the day!" And, in some ways, Haye's jovial, unapologetic response isn't surprising. After all, the use of the word "rape" to describe all kinds of bad experience – from getting beaten up in a boxing match, to having your hairdo completely ruined – has recently become usual, average, shruggable. Just as the word "gay" has been twisted by pop culture, used to refer to someone or something a bit uncool, the word "rape" is now regularly used where "nightmare" or an apt expletive would previously have been in order.

An example of so-called rape talk? Coming out of an exercise class recently, a guy turned to one of my friends, sweating and breathless, and heaved a sigh of satisfied exhaustion. "Wow, that was just like being raped, wasn't it?" he said. My friend stood motionless, blinking back at him. Another? In the July issue of UK Elle, the Twilight star Kristen Stewart talked about being trailed by the paparazzi, saying that when she sees the resulting photographs: "I feel like I'm looking at someone being raped." (Stewart later apologised for the comparison). Online, there has been a lot of talk about "Facebook rape": a term used to describe a third party getting access to someone's Facebook account and changing their details. Almost 1.3 million people are fans of the Facebook page "Thanks wind, you have totally raped my hair", where photos of windswept women are posted. And the rightwing US shock jocks, always ahead of the crowd with vile, vicious language, have been using rape talk for years. In separate discussions of healthcare reform last year, Rush Limbaugh warned his listeners, "get ready to get gang-raped again", while Glenn Beck compared himself and his viewers to "the young girl saying, 'No, no, help me,'" while "the government is Roman Polanski".

[Kristy]

He totally raped that article.

[kwame k]

My eyes feel like they've been raped after reading that article.......

[Kristy]

Stuff like this never used to bother me at all. And now it does. Not hugely, but a bit. It's effectively become a word of emphasis now. I'm not debating whether it's right or wrong necessarily. I don't think it's a smart word to use - but neither can you say anyone who uses it condones the practice. It's insensitive, definitely.

[kwame k]

Can't say I ever use it regularly........I have said it when I have been over charged for something but really can't see it coming into vogue.

[Kristy]

I think it would probably be better if we just ignored bad taste. You have people like Howard Stern making rape jokes. Everyone has a right to be offended but it's possible to get offended by much these days. No harm in writing articles pointing out its worrying legitimization I suppose; misogyny is accepted in mainstream culture in a way that racism isn't.

[kwame k]

I'm out and about most everyday and interact with a ton of people.....I have not heard people using it but I guess I can understand the concern.

[Little Texan]

Can't say I ever use it regularly........I have said it when I have been over charged for something but really can't see it coming into vogue.

I use the expression "raped my wallet" for that situation.

[Nitro Express]

Stuff like this never used to bother me at all. And now it does. Not hugely, but a bit. It's effectively become a word of emphasis now. I'm not debating whether it's right or wrong necessarily. I don't think it's a smart word to use - but neither can you say anyone who uses it condones the practice. It's insensitive, definitely.

The word fuck used to be socially taboo. It was the mother of dirty words and you caught shit for using it around halfway decent people. Now you can't go out in public without hearing it blurted out. Once society accepts that it's only a matter of time before something more tasteless and offensive becomes the norm.

[Nitro Express]

What always amused me is my dad owned a construction company and I heard all the choice words out on the job sites. Then I graduated from college and started working in office environments and I heard more foul language and talk in offices than I ever heard on a construction site. Stock brokers were the worst scumbags as far as that went.

[ELVIS]

So, we can't say ******, rape, terrorist, illegal alien, shoot, crosshairs, target or bomb...

What is the world coming to...

[ELVIS]

Any other words we can no longer say ??

[Seshmeister]

Everyone has a right to be offended but it's possible to get offended by much these days.

No one has the right not to be offended.

Don't really get the original story since the word rape has always had multiple contexts e.g. that land was raped by the chemical company.

Still I see the thread has given ELVIS the opportunity to be oh so radical by using the only banned word here for the millionth time. You want to start paying the bills and doing the work then maybe you can sit there typing it all day long. Right up to the point when everyone else leaves.

[Seshmeister]

Any other words we can no longer say ??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man

[kwame k]

Well he must think it's cool to use the only word that's banned from this place.....

He's a rebel, man!

What's next for this bad boy.....dick pics!

[VAiN]

I'll be honest, I hate the word, the thought, etc... I guess it comes down to personal experience. I have 2 good female friends who have been assaulted, so I take it very personally. I don't use the word and I don't see any humor in it. I guess it's different when you've witnessed the end result.

[Seshmeister]

The funny thing is that statistically 9 out of 10 people actually enjoy gang rape.

[Seshmeister]

I guess that's the sort of thing that people are complaining about. To me it's not a bad joke but I wouldn't tell it at a rape victims support group.

Unless I was there as a victim.

Context is everything.

[ThrillsNSpills]

Getting offended is a personal choice, not a right.

[ThrillsNSpills]

Context is everything.

So very true .

[chefcraig]

It's fairly discouraging when you realize that there appears to be a relatively large audience for the damned act. One of NBC's highest rated programs (Law & Order SVU) brings the subject into your living room every single week. The Hollywood film industry actually has a genre of films referred to as "torture-porn", so named for the humiliation and degradation depicted in films like the Saw series. The porn industry (which has made a comfortable cottage industry exploiting women over the past 50 years) has developed a new sub-genre during the recent decade depicting the subjugation of women, with the repugnant side bar that the women had somehow "asked for it" through some otherwise innocuous act. Even worse, defenders of this despicable garbage offer the absurd observation that the films empower women, which is complete and utter horseshit, as you can not empower the same individual you are in the process of exploiting.

So how and why did this cultural shift take place? Who knows, but there is a truly warped undercurrent of titillation at work here, one that reveals not only a fascination with, but (to an extent) an acceptance of sordid, sick behavior, one that has filtered down into use as part of standard conversation.

And before anyone makes an issue of the avatar I'm currently using while making these points, believe me, I'm considering a change. After all, it is true that if you aren't part of the solution, you are indeed part of the problem.

[VAiN]

The funny thing is that statistically 9 out of 10 people actually enjoy gang rape.

OK, I'll admit, that's pretty funny.

[Seshmeister]

And before anyone makes an issue of the avatar I'm currently using while making these points, believe me, I'm considering a change. After all, it is true that if you aren't part of the solution, you are indeed part of the problem.

I don't see what torture porn has to do with your avatar.

These slippery slope, if you aren't part of the solution you are part of the problem arguments rarely add up. You'll just end up either a lying hypocrite like your average family values politician/preacher or sticking girls in burkas.

[chefcraig]

I don't see what torture porn has to do with your avatar.

These slippery slope, if you aren't part of the solution you are part of the problem arguments rarely add up. You'll just end up either a lying hypocrite like your average family values politician/preacher or sticking girls in burkas.

I suppose it has to do with the nature of exploitation, along with the strength of one's convictions, a sort of "put your money where your mouth is" type of deal. On the other hand, I completely agree that if you try to be all things to all people, you wind up being nuthin' to nobody.

[ELVIS]

Kwame must be a straw man...

[ELVIS]

Context is everything.

Exactamundo...

[kwame k]

Kwame must be a straw man...

I am the Egg Man, I am The Walrus.........

[Seshmeister]

I suppose it has to do with the nature of exploitation, along with the strength of one's convictions, a sort of "put your money where your mouth is" type of deal.

I just hope that you are using your posts in this thread as a subtle way of tempting some chick into the sack with the old reverse sensitivity technique.

[hambon4lif]

I suppose it has to do with the nature of exploitation, along with the strength of one's convictions, a sort of "put your money where your mouth is" type of deal. On the other hand, I completely agree that if you try to be all things to all people, you wind up being nuthin' to nobody.

The gal in your av is posing for that picture.
She's not spreading her gash or have a cock in her mouth, so I'm having a bit of difficulty understanding how you feel you're exploiting her or crossing any lines. It makes no sense.

[Seshmeister]

On a related topic what does piss me off is the constant portrayal of torture as an effective method to get great information. I boycotted 24 because it is so full of it and then now it pops up in the new Boardwalk Empire show. It's bullshit and harmful bullshit too. These programs go all around the world and will be used to help justify all sorts of nasty stuff in crappy dictatorships.

[chefcraig]

I just hope that you are using your posts in this thread as a subtle way of tempting some chick into the sack with the old reverse sensitivity technique.

The next time that works will be the first time.

The gal in your av is posing for that picture.
She's not spreading her gash or have a cock in her mouth, so I'm having a bit of difficulty understanding how you feel you're exploiting her or crossing any lines. It makes no sense.

It does to a knuckle-dragging degree, but you are right, it truly isn't something I should over-think or feel guilty about. It's merely an image, and if people are willing to be offended by it, then that really isn't my problem, it's theirs.

[Kristy]

How much I detest the guy, he does make (barely) one or two valid points here

[Guitar Shark]

I think it would probably be better if we just ignored bad taste.

Ignore the Army? Never!

[Nitro Express]

So, we can't say ******, rape, terrorist, illegal alien, shoot, crosshairs, target or bomb...

What is the world coming to...

I want an illegal alien to rape your ****** ass and then put you in crosshairs, make a target of you and shoot you in the head. Then bomb the evidence.

[Nitro Express]

Just don't say the above in front of young children.

[Hardrock69]

I think the fool that wrote the original article should be ass-raped by baboons.

If I paid attention to all these pussy ass-wipes and their goddamnable fucking PC bullshit, I would never say a fucking word.

Fortunately, I am intelligent enough to ignore these worthless sacks of shit when they go on about something that has no value.

Reminds me of a Wesley Snipes movie I saw in the 90s called Demolition Man where any time someone used a curse word, they would get fined. And Wesley Snipes and Sly Stallone's characters took great pleasure in using foul language continuously.

[chefcraig]

Reminds me of a Wesley Snipes movie I saw in the 90s called Demolition Man where any time someone used a curse word, they would get fined. And Wesley Snipes and Sly Stallone's characters took great pleasure in using foul language continuously.

In Stallone's defense, it was because he couldn't figure out how to work the little shells, so he couldn't get the bidet to function or the toilet paper to dispense properly. Christ, I feel dumber just having typed that, let alone read it.

[PETE'S BROTHER]

not judge dread?

[PETE'S BROTHER]

all restaurants are taco bell...

[chefcraig]

all restaurants are taco bell...

Which goes a long way toward explaining the need for proper bathroom education in the future.