By Syreeta McFadden • @reetamac • 12 years ago

Legitimate rape, the song

Could Akin inspire a teachable and creatively necessary response to rape culture? Bien sur. Thank you Taylor Ferrera!

h/t Upworthy

Lyrics after the jump.

Lyrics:

How can you tell if it’s legitimate rape?
I’ll tell you how to spot legitimate rape.
You’re not sure if you got legitimate raped?
Well here’s a little lesson for you.
Tell me if the following things are true:

I was a little drunk
Illegitimate rape!
I knew the rapist well
Illegitimate rape!
My skirt was kinda short
Illegitimate rape!
I’m married to the man
That’s a husband’s privilege!

How can you tell if it’s legitimate rape?
I’ll tell you how to spot legitimate rape.
You’re not sure if you got legitimate raped?
Well here’s a little lesson for you.
Tell me if the following things are true:

I let him take me out.
illegitimate rape!
I said I was 18.
illegitimate rape!
He didn’t have consent.
I’m sure your eyes were saying yes.
I’m pregnant from the rape.
Clearly not legitimate!

So now we all know what’s legitimate rape.
We all know who to trust to tell us what’s rape.
Republicans who’ve never experienced rape.
They’re the ones I want to decide
That I should keep the baby growing inside.
Because abortion’s always wrong.
Glad things are so black and white.

SYREETA MCFADDEN is a Brooklyn based writer, photographer and adjunct professor of English. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, The Guardian, BuzzFeed, The Huffington Post, Religion Dispatches and Storyscape Journal. She is the managing editor of the online literary magazine, Union Station, and a co-curator of Poets in Unexpected Places. You can follow her on Twitter @reetamac.

Syreeta McFadden is a contributing opinion writer for The Guardian US and an editor of Union Station Magazine.

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