Rape is not sex

Rape is not sex.

It’s such a simple statement and yet it’s a concept that appears to be eluding conservatives of late.

Sex requires consent. Said another way, consent is necessary for sex to not be rape.

The way we talk about rape is important and we must always make sure to not conflate rape with consensual sex particularly when we are talking about things like pregnancy, abortion, and child support.  You don’t have rape with someone.

When Todd Akin says, women can’t get pregnant from rape we all do a collective #headdesk, but part of the reason he’s even forced to explain why he thinks rape victims should be forced to give birth to their rapists babies is because he isn’t drawing a bright line between rape and sex.

As Atrios succinctly put it yesterday with regards to conservatives and rape:

I decided there are basically three issues. First, they can never really seem to grasp the concept of ‘consent.’ Second, they tend to lump rape together with having unapproved sex generally. Third, for reasons which escape me, a lot of them seem to really really fear having someone “falsely” accuse them of rape.

Rape is not sex.

Rape is a crime for which too few are actually prosecuted and held accountable.

When a rape victim becomes pregnant as a result of her attack, that is not in any way similar to having a baby out-of-wedlock, like GOP Senate candidate Tom Smith said yesterday.

When a rape victim gets pregnant as a result of her attack, that rape is not a method of conception, like GOP vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan said last week.

So let’s fire off a list of things and words that rape should never ever associated with:

Feel free to add more in the comments.  I think my brain has had more than enough rape talk for one day.

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