Comments on: Is she lying about rape? Just check out her pay stub.

By: “He Could Have Sex With Anybody He Wanted.” - The Sexist - Washington City Paper

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:02:32 +0000

[...] Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant could have sex with anybody he wanted: “Why would he rape her? He could have sex with anyone he [...]

By: Caek. :: Xtinian Thoughts

Caek. :: Xtinian Thoughts — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 18:23:41 +0000

[...] – tigtog, here. [...]

By: Being Amber Rhea » Blog Archive » links for 2007-10-17

Being Amber Rhea » Blog Archive » links for 2007-10-17 — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 23:26:22 +0000

[...] Feministe » Is she lying about rape? Just check out her pay stub. “The assumption is that low-class women are available for sexual gratification, and that they actively seek out sex – and if you’re a higher-class man, they’ll use their sexual wiles to trap you. They might cry rape.” (tags: class feminism rape assholes society privilege crime violence women) [...]

By: Charlotte

Charlotte — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 14:46:58 +0000

Coming from a European perspective, I am drawn to connecting the classist intimations of this debate to the legal/ economic culture in the US. If it weren’t as easy to sue someone here (or if lawsuits were more affordable for all social strata), how do you think this would impact the vulnerable woman = easy target paradigm?

By: Jill

Jill — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 10:35:49 +0000

The classism, or reverse classism, whichever it happens to be, is just a vehicle for their misogyny.

Right. That’s the point. None of us win.

By: Joel

Joel — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 01:13:24 +0000

The idea goes a bit beyond whether low-class women can’t be trusted. It suggests that anyone who is a member of our more impoverished classes cannot be trusted. Lower-class women get the double-whammy.

By: the15th

the15th — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 01:05:26 +0000

I think this post is somewhat unnecessarily divisive. Someone in the special moderation queue may have said that less affluent women are likely to lie about rape. But for every one of him, there’s someone sneering at “entitled,” “sheltered,” “spoiled” victims like Natalee Holloway or Imette St. Guillen. As you point out, “those lily-white high-class ladies have their reputations torn apart for having the audacity to get themselves raped” — and their reputations are torn apart by the exact same rape apologists who were just arguing that “low-class” women are liars. The classism, or reverse classism, whichever it happens to be, is just a vehicle for their misogyny.

By: libber

libber — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 21:39:13 +0000

This is a great post. On a related note, I have found that if you do well on the job or at school, guys will automatically suspect that you must have had sex with the boss/the teacher or at least have used the fact that you are female to get to where you are. And in my experience it is not uncommon that employers and teachers will try to exploit you in these ways (e.g., by explicitly offering sex, sending you erotic letters, etc.) And when you refuse to go along, others who don’t are favored.

By: Mickle

Mickle — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 20:02:01 +0000

Yes, the cake metaphor is a good one. And great minds think alike. :) I know I’ve used that one before myself, although probably not as well put as Tepper’s.

Part of why it’s nice is because it really makes it about consent and all the fact that decisions are based on more than just what you want to do. There could be all kinds of reasons why you like chocolate cake, but just don’t want to eat that one, or eat cake right now, or can’t eat cake for health reasons, whatever. So even when it’s not shoved down violently, forcing someone to eat cake when they didn’t say “yes” is just wrong.

By: micheyd

micheyd — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 19:37:04 +0000

That’s a great analogy, tigtog!

My favorite is from a professor at Cornell (can’t remember her name, gah!) who said that “of course rape is not the same as sex! If I hit you over the head with a rolling pin, do you call it cooking?”