Tag Archive for "Steubenville"

Posts Tagged Steubenville

Conservative media’s greatest misogynist hits of 2013: Feminism is a sexual perversion that causes statutory rape and more

This year’s greatest misogynist hits from conservative media included gems like, “You shut up. Know your role and shut your mouth,” the timeless assertion that feminism is “turning women into sexualized freaks,” and the classic claim that the victim was “manhandled” during “the so-called Steubenville Rape.” But there are so many more! Check them out after the jump.

By Alexandra Brodsky • 11 years ago

Why is Serena Williams the new poster child for rape culture?

I spoke yesterday on Huff Post Live about Serena Williams’ recent comments on Steubenville, but I was upset that we didn’t talk about the racism of the media response. Look: I think the remarks were 100% wrong. Williams expressed sympathy for the assailants and cruelly blamed the survivor for her own assault because she was drunk–and, in doing so, sent a dangerous message to Rolling Stones readers about who is responsible for rape (right answer: rapists).

We have to be able, though, to call out both Williams’ sexism and the racism of the media response. Should we publicly criticize her? Yes. Are we singling out Williams as the new poster child for rape culture because of ...

I spoke yesterday on Huff Post Live about Serena Williams’ recent comments on Steubenville, but I was upset that we didn’t talk about the racism of the media response. Look: I think ...

By Lori Adelman • 11 years ago

Watch Alexandra speak out against Serena WIlliams’ victim-blaming Steubenville comment

But first please ignore the victim-blamey framing of the video (No, Serena doesn’t “have a point about responsibility,” HuffPo). And learn more about the campaign Alexandra helped launch to stop sexual violence.

By Katie Halper • 11 years ago

Hands Up for Rehtaeh: raise your hand against rape

Rehtaeh Parsons was a 17-year-old Canadian high student who hanged herself in April. Rehtaeh started having suicidal thoughts when she was 15 after she was raped by four boys who photographed the violation and sent it around to their friends and classmates. As if that weren’t bad enough, for the next 17 months, Rehtaeh’s classmates shunned, tormented and bullied her mercilessly. No charges were ever filed.

Two months to the day after Rehtaeh’s death, feminists are launching a day of awareness around violence against women and a commemoration of Rehtaeh. As the organizers explain on the Hands Up for Rehtaeh page,

in light of this [Rehtaeh’s story], Steubenville, and numerous other rapes and sexual assaults in the news, we are making a ...

By Maya Dusenbery • 11 years ago

Back in Steubenville, rape culture is still winning as football coach’s contract is renewed

Ed. note: This is a guest post from Mychal Denzel Smith. He is a writer, social commentator, and mental health advocate whose work on politics, social justice, mental health, and black male identity has appeared in outlets such as The Nation, The Guardian, The Atlantic, Gawker, Salon, The Root, and more.

It seems simple enough: If you participate in the cover up of a rape, especially one that involves minors, you should lose your job. If your job requires you to be responsible for teenagers, then two of those teenagers rape an intoxicated 16-year-old and share photos of the act through social media, and your response is to joke about it with them, it’s not that hard to decide ...

Ed. note: This is a guest post from Mychal Denzel Smith. He is a writer, social commentator, and mental health advocate whose work on politics, social justice, mental health, and black male identity has appeared in ...

By Alexandra Brodsky • 11 years ago

The perils of representing rape

Last week, Rehtaeh Parsons died from injuries sustained when she hanged herself in her bathroom. A year and a half earlier she had been gang-raped, images from the assault had been circulated, and she’d been ceaselessly harassed. A few days later the police arrested three teens for raping and then distributing photos of Audrie Pott, who had since killed herself.

These stories received significant media attention, as they should have. Newspapers tried to reconstruct the chain of events of the individual cases while columnists diagnosed the underlying societal problems that lead to such tragedies. I wrote a piece urging Feministing readers to combat rape culture in Parsons’ memory.

I had a lurking worry as I wrote, though, which has mushroomed ...

By Alexandra Brodsky • 11 years ago

Quick Hit: How to not be Trent Mays

One of the strangest things I encounter in anti-violence work is the number of people (usually young men) who are desperately afraid that, if we start really cracking down on rape, they will end up in jail. Their concern doesn’t seem to be that they’ve already raped someone, but that they might in the future despite their very best efforts–as though sexual assault were some kind of unfortunate accident nice boys happen upon occasionally.

Thomas MacAulay Millar at the Yes Means Yes blog posted a great essay yesterday urging teenage boys nervous about Steubenville to calm the fuck down. He doesn’t urge them to be any less vigilant in their concern for consent, but to recognize that their behavior (including, ...

By Maya Dusenbery • 11 years ago

Steubenville teens are found guilty but rape culture remains alive and well

*Trigger warning*

Yesterday, the verdict was handed down in the Steubenville rape case. The defendants, Trent Mays and Ma’lik Richmond, were found guilty. Mays will serve at least two years in the state juvenile system; Richmond was sentenced to at least one year. And the attorney general may also bring charges against others who turned a blind eye to the assault.

I feel great relief that I’m not writing about a “not guilt” verdict today. Justice was served–as best it could be by an imperfect system–in this case. Since it so often isn’t, that is something–not only for Jane Doe, who I hope has the support she surely needs right now, but also for the rest of us, who live in ...

*Trigger warning*