Cute Nicknames for Men Who Assault Women

Inappropriate nicknames are turning bizarre assaults into hilarious encounters on college campuses.
At Georgetown University yesterday morning, an unknown man revived a year-long series of assaults between GWU, Georgetown, and American University in which he breaks into women’s apartments near campus, lies down next to or on top of them while they sleep, attempts to enter them with his hand, then runs away when they scream. This earned him the nickname “The Georgetown Cuddler.”
This March at the University of California, Berkeley, a man targeted young women wearing dresses and skirts, and attempted to penetrate them with his hand before running away. Many of the assaulted students were en route from frat or sorority parties on Piedmont Avenue, and the man was dubbed the “Piedmont Poker,” and the “Digital Penetrator,” after the police report for “digital penetration.”
News coverage of assaults has varied results; it can empower women by condemning the violence, but can also heighten fear in the discussion of diminished personal safety. It is possible that these inappropriate nicknames could serve as coping mechanisms for some students to alleviate their fears. Monikers can turn horror into humor. But in the long run, they diminish the seriousness of the situation.
When someone “cuddly” has “surprise sex” with or “pokes” women, reporting it as such excuses the attacker, dismisses violence as acceptable, and condescends to survivors.
The Sexist took this on in Feburary.