Twenty of the 21 serial rapists were identified from the first 153 rape kits officially tested for DNA and entered into the national database known as CODIS, or the Combined DNA Index System, this summer. In other words, these 20 men had been involved in at least one other rape case, according to the database.
Todd Akin, US congressman and senatorial nominee claimed in an interview that victims of “legitimate rape” have unnamed biological defenses that prevent pregnancy.
Some links that neatly bookend aspects of a problem that many people experience, either as targets of creepiness finding that their social group is not stepping up to back them up, or those worrying about their particular social habits being perceived as creepy when it’s the last thing they want to be. Also? Enough with the Aspie bit already!
[Content note: rape culture, sexual violence] Liss put up a counter-thread at Shakesville for rape-survivors and allies to talk about their reactions in a safe-space.
Take-home message: beware micro-manipulations as part of a flirt routine – if warning bells are ringing, trust the jangling of our spidey-senses.
Humans, even rapists, are complex entities. A rapist is capable of doing good things for some people, while doing grave harm to others. In Sandusky’s case, what appeared to be (and in some cases maybe actually was) good works was simultaneously the grooming of victims.
This particular nugget comes from Pharyngula, where a post from PZ addressing rape culture led to a predictable influx of the usual victim-blaming rape myths as if they were commensense truths, leading to a predictably forceful pushback from the Pharyngulites, who do not let that crap stand. If readers would like to add their own favourite links addressing rape myths/culture in comments, I’d really like to see them.
…when they see skimpily covered attractive flesh? Then why do we never hear of summer sun-seekers being attacked by rapists in the middle of large sunlit crowds at public squares and parks and beaches? The skimpily covered attractive flesh is there in maximum abundance, but somehow the attacks just don’t happen when there are plenty of surrounding eyewitnesses and CC-TV?
This post and the link it takes you to comes with a big trigger warning for use of the words of sexual attackers.
Late last year, Grace Brown started an art project called Project Unbreakable. It involves photographing men and women holding posters which contain something that their attacker/s said to them immediately before, during, or after their attack.
The headline basically says it all for the benefit of our HaT tweetbot; here’s the link to the #ididnotreport hashtag on Twitter if you want to read.
…my objection to anti-black racism being used as a rhetorical device by those who will never face it, is that black people engage in tons of behaviours to make white people feel safer. We do this all the damn time. We make accommodations in speech, behaviour, dress, mannerism, conversation topic – a wide diversity of adjustments that we make in the presence of our white friends […] I don’t appreciate being deputized into your anti-feminist screed in this way.
Hoyden About Town 