There was an article on Reddit in the past few days; some academic blowhard saying that the same sexual ethics that permits promiscuity also means that rape is no worse than assault or coercion of any other kind.
I must loudly disagree.
The sexual ethics that allow promiscuity does not, as the idea that rape is no worse than assault or mugging requires, imply any sort of commoditizing the sexual act or sexuality itself. It implies "hey, sex is fun, let's do it".
In order for rape to be equivalent to assault or mugging, there are a few factors that would have to be completely removed.
1) The exceptionally personal nature of sex means that rape and sexual assault are also far, far more personal crimes. You're not just beating someone, you are doing something personal to them. You are taking away their self-determination in matters of the most intimate nature.
2) Assault and muggings don't come with either of the possible life sentences common in rape cases: pregnancy and STDs. If a guy punching me could give me AIDS, shit, that'd be bad. But it can't.
3) Rape survivors, unlike people who get assaulted, have shit to deal with just trying to have justice served. People who get beaten, or robbed, or practically any other crime, are rarely told, in a roundabout way, that it's their fault. Rape survivors? They get told "Should've dressed less slutty" and "Shouldn't have been drunk" and "shouldn't be alone at night".
So, rather than say that a culture that allows promiscuity has no right to punish rape more harshly than theft, assault, or breaking and entering, why not look at the actual issue here. Sex is not a commodity in a sex-positive culture; sex is a deeply personal thing in a sex-positive culture. In fact, in a sex-positive culture, it is more personal because you are having sex when, where, how, why, and with whom you want, rather than being bound by rules the sole purpose of which is to control.
No comments:
Post a Comment