Two weeks ago, Binghamton’s “SlutWalk” drew about 100 people who showed up to protest what they perceived as a culture that “blames the victim.”
Proponents of the walk say those who claim the way a woman dresses increases the likelihood that she will be raped or sexually assaulted are perpetuating a “don’t get raped” mentality, whereas they should be telling men, “don’t rape.”
Obviously, there are no excuses for rape. It is a disgusting and reprehensible act that has no place in civilized society. The psychology of a rapist — what motivates him to use such a crude method of gaining power — is beyond my comprehension. Anyone guilty of rape should be thrown in jail to rot.
But because the moral outrage that rightly accompanies the topic of rape is so massive, it clouds any sort of discourse on the matter. Any suggestion that, perhaps, there are things that can be done on both sides to cut down the chances that a rape will occur are met with cries of “misogynist,” “oppressor” or “you’re blaming the victim!”
Moral outrage, in those cases, mutates into blind de-legitimization of any voice that dares question the current assumptions about sexual assault.
But is it “misogynistic” or otherwise wrong to propose that perhaps there are active steps that women can take to reduce their chances of being sexually assaulted? Is it possible that revealing clothes may prompt certain men to ignore boundaries?
Most guys, I think, enjoy the way party-going college women dress. Promiscuity is a given in the four years we have here, and women who go out dressed in short skirts and otherwise titillating dress acknowledge that in their sartorial choices. All the power to them. You like looking good, and we like when you look good, too.
And the majority of men leave it at that level. If there’s mutual interest then conversation starts up, flirting ensues and things go from there. The excitement of all that is a big part of what makes the weekends fun.
But not all guys think like that.
Whether they’re socially impaired, take “no” as a “maybe,” or just crave the total domination that makes rape such a powerful weapon in war, there is, for every 10 or 20 or even 100 normal guys who will check you out, then start up a conversation, that one guy who will take advantage of you, whether it’s by grabbing your ass on the dance floor, or worse.
If we could tell who those people were beforehand and lock them up or otherwise stop sexual assault, that would be great. But we can’t. Most of the time, the sexually aggressive look exactly like the rest of us.
So to cut down on instances of sexual assault, we must take steps. Colleges must further institute systems that aim at heading off on-campus assault. Women-specific self-defense courses are taught. It’s a good start. Increasing security and self-defense courses, traveling in groups and staying away from creepy-looking guys are also good steps.
But women can make personal decisions that may reduce the occurrence of sexual assault, too. In most cases, college sexual assault happens because guys want sexual interaction they can’t otherwise get, and they’ll look for it in the most obvious places.
When women go Downtown in tops that leave next to nothing to the imagination and skirts that cover no more than their underwear, it doesn’t make them “sluts” any more than it puts them at blame for the cases in which women are sexually assaulted.
But with the understanding that there are men who have no self-control, and there are guys who will go after girls they think will be easy and say “no” only as some perverse form of foreplay, there are things that can be done to reduce the chances that one of those men will decide you’re that one. Finding a happy medium between long skirts and sweatshirts and next-to-nothing could dissuade a would-be State Street aggressor.