Tuesday, May 19, 1998
Insensitive article ignores victims
RAPE: Jeremic column attempts to shift responsibility away from
attackers, degrades all women
By Michael Daugherty
Neven Jeremic’s little treatise on rape, feminism, sexual
harassment, women’s studies, etcetera ad infinitum ad nauseam is no
doubt the most insensitive, insulting and dangerous article I’ve
ever read in this paper. It is in thought, execution and substance
entirely, utterly wrong. I can’t cover all of it; there’s too much.
But I would like to address a few points:
By virtue of his cavalier indifference to the heart of the issue
– rape – I am inclined to suppose that Neven doesn’t actually know
anyone who has been raped. Well, I do. So maybe I’m taking this a
little bit personally, but I’d like to know:
How does one master one’s own vagina when one is in a near coma,
having been unwittingly administered a dose of Rohypnol or any one
of the other illegal and dangerous sedatives favored by some dates,
friends, acquaintances and hosts?
How does one master one’s own vagina when one is still too young
to even pronounce the word, too old to fight back for fear of
breaking a hip or too mentally ill to understand what a vagina is
in the first place?
How does one master one’s own vagina while being punched, choked
and threatened with death or mayhem?
How does becoming the master of one’s own vagina prevent one
from being raped for having had a bit too much to drink, or for
wrongly assuming that one was among friends, or for having a crush
on the wrong person, or for walking down the wrong street or for
being afraid to scream?
Come to think of it, how does one go about becoming the master
of one’s own vagina? Do you fill out a form? Is there a fee? Does
one wear a T-shirt that says "Master of My Own Vagina"? I’m mocking
the title of Neven’s article to demonstrate its absence of logical
thinking.
Neven blames the feminists, in particular "MacDworkinism," for
robbing women of their power. I would suggest that we blame the
rapists instead. A female member of my immediate family did not
have nightmares about Andrea Dworkin or Catherine MacKinnon after
she was raped. As far as I know, neither Dworkin nor MacKinnon had
anything whatsoever to do with the suffering, humiliation and
degradation she felt for the years that followed her gruesome
experience.
Neven writes, "Women will never be taken seriously until they
accept full responsibility for their sexuality." Bingo! Thank you,
Neven, for demonstrating in your own words where, exactly, you live
and breathe. You have just stated that women ipso facto aren’t
taken seriously. Taken seriously by whom?
For the most part, women take women seriously. And I take women
seriously. And believe it or not, there are other men out there who
take women seriously. So Neven, you have just identified yourself
with that minority of people who don’t take certain people
seriously based on their gender. It’s called sexism, Neven. The
shoe fits. Wear it. And don’t accuse me of twisting your words. I
am merely handing them back to you.
So I’d like to know why someone who doesn’t take women seriously
is writing about an incredibly sensitive and painful issue like
rape. What purposes are served by an article that attempts to
discredit rape statistics, that blames the victim, that denigrates
the people who counsel the victims, that mocks the Violence Against
Women Act and that vilifies feminism?
All that from someone who denies being a misogynist? I find the
whole concept truly grotesque and question the Bruin’s sanity or
attention span for letting such mindless pap find its way onto the
page.Daugherty is a former Viewpoint columnist and 1998 bachelor of
arts candidate.