ellis@spar.UUCP (Michael Ellis) (06/14/85)
>SOPHIE, >You know that a lot of women are asking for it. I mean look during the >summer, tight shorts, no bras, big brown nipples showing. SHEEEEEIT. >(at least in california) > >Most of the time, the woman is unconsciously asking to be raped. >She takes no precautions, ie. walks alone in the night, and wears >provocative clothing. > >Larry G. Kim You really believe that, don't you? You really believe that if YOU get turned on by a woman, then SHE requires sexual service. Suppose a person who thinks this way decides to ACT on such a belief? Some do. You'll typically encounter such sentiments as these wherever male peer group attitudes predominate. Are you then not surprised when some feminists blame men as a group for rape, especially considering how many men take part in the preservation of this point of view? Some of the ideas implicit in Larry's article: *Men who wear nothing but a pair of shorts are dressing comfortably, whereas women wearing the same, plus a T-shirt, are `asking for it'. *A woman can always, and must, find an escort when she needs one; otherwise she obviously needs sexual service from a man. ...presuppose that the purpose of a woman's body is the sexual amusement of men, and that women must constantly live with this `fact of life'. Most guys will casually brush all this off be remarking "Well, that's just the way it is -- you can't do anything about it". But you can. Starting off in your own mental backyard. -michael
meg@sii.UUCP (Marta Greenberg) (06/17/85)
> SOPHIE, > You know that a lot of women are asking for it. I mean look during the > summer, tight shorts, no bras, big brown nipples showing. SHEEEEEIT. > (at least in california) > > Most of the time, the woman is unconsciously asking to be raped. > She takes no precautions, ie. walks alone in the night, and wears > provocative clothing. > > Larry G. Kim If a guy is dressed for the summer, like in shorts and no top, is he "asking for it"? I mean, women appreciate the view, too. Maybe he's turning us on. But that doesn't mean the guy is asking to screw with any random woman off the street. One answer to this (that I have heard in discussions) is that the guy probably would be amenable to sex if a woman came up and propositioned him. Sure, some men would enjoy it. But with any woman, no matter how attractive she is? Or, put another way, what about a woman he found totally repulsive? Does his dress require him to submit to her desires? The guy reserves and we allow him the right to say no. His dress (or where he's walking, when he's out, etc.) doesn't cause us to say that he's asking for it. Another thing to remember is that not every guy dressed like that is asking for sex. They expect a negative response to be taken at face value. Some men would not even enjoy being asked. By the way, people, Larry's article shows up one reason many have argued about provocative clothing being a factor (major or minor) in rape. Picking up on this idea can lead to distortions like Larry's. (This does not mean that clothing is or isn't a factor!) Marta Greenberg, decvax!sii!meg