Date Rape: It's you fault, you drunken whore (print ad).
Rape. Not an easy thing to do an ad about. Right, France? Milwaukee? And when governments do rape ads, ho boy, heads up. Right, England?
Well, the Pennsylvania Liquor Board got the urge to weigh in on teen date rape. This was the lead ad of their campaign. The victim blaming strategy didn't go over so well. They pulled all the ads Wednesday. But ya know, if a man wants to rape, he's gonna do some raping. Ads aimed at those psychos probably ain't ever going to work, either. Here's an idea: stop wasting money on flashy rape ads. Spend it on education in schools and rape prosecution. Your tax money at work, Keystoners.
posted by copyranter @ 8:30 AM
18 Comments:
More over-reaction by the PC crowd. Not sure if it's funny or sad.
I think it's just a dumb ad, dumb visual, dumb headline, that's all.
I worked on a government account. The worst, clueless idiots.
It is dumb, but is it offensive? I thought 'dumb' is a popular lifestyle in the states.
Front page on Yahoo has a story just now about this ad being pulled.
@cheeseonearth
yes, it's offensive. it implies that she let herself be raped because she drank too much, perpetuating victim-blaming. it's not her fault, it's the rapist's fault (if she's too drunk to consent, it's rape. end of story).
@anonymous
You won't get much disagreement as to the awfulness of rapists. But young people especially need to realize that they bear responsibility for the situations they put themselves into. On any topic, sex, money, etc, if you make yourself and easy victim, you're probably going to get victimized. That' s just the world we live in.
Ooooh. I see what you're saying there. Date rape is not rape. So when they say "rape" they mean "consensual sex". Got it! Keep up the good fight!
Look, rape is always the rapists fault. No doubt about it. People don't 'ask' to be raped.
However, the victim has to take some responsibility for putting themselves in dangerous situations.
Sure, if I walk down a dark ally in a suit made of money, its not my fault if someone robs me. But that still doesn't mean I didn't put myself in a situation that made it easy to happen.
Let us see the government work you did. Was it dumb?
So imploring young women to be mindful of their surroundings and how much they've had to drink is now a misogynistic act of blaming the victim? Good to know.
Future anthropologists will be fascinated to know the exact point chivalry and good parenting became misogynistic.
Ironically, this sort of thinking will, if anything, lead to more incidents of sexual assault and date rape. Hooray feminism!
Anon @ 6:40 and 8:57: Don't get your knickers in a knot. That comment was for Anon @ 4:07.
And I'll offer some advice. Free of charge. If you want to spare your knickers, stop being Anonymous.
Otherwise, I agree with you (wow! I know!). There's ideal reality and then there's reality. Saying that people need to take some responsibility for their own safety is not the same as blaming the victim.
Let's all stop assigning "responsibility" for rape.
This ad doesn't imply at all that the drunk woman is at fault for being raped. It makes the obvious and commonsense point that rape is one of the many dangers that can befall a person, male or female, if they are too drunk to protect themselves from a threat.
Stay (at least relatively) sober, ladies! It will help you stay safe!
None of these sentiments imply that failing to protect yourself means it's your "fault" for getting raped.
I think what people who haven't experienced sexual violence don't realize is just how much damage messages like this inflict on victims. It really, really messes with your head, and it's self-blaming, self-hating thoughts like these that rape counselors have the hardest time helping victims overcome. Showing ads like this to a rape victim is analogous to telling someone with anorexia that she's fat, or firing a gun next to the head of someone with PTSD.
They could have picked any number of negative consequences that result from binge drinking; it was (surely unintentionally) horrible to pick this one.
I resent the message that people shouldn't let their female friends go out and get drunk, lest they do something stupid and end up getting themselves raped.
I'd be OK with the message that friends should make a little extra effort to look out each other when they're drunk (and therefore vulnerable).
It's a subtle difference, but an important one. The ad takes the first approach and ends up sounding preachy and judgmental.
@cath Hear, hear!
Given the controversy at Penn State, this is beyond ironic ....
I didn't mind the ad before ... but this essay explained the issue at hand:
http://www.salon.com/2011/12/14/how_to_prevent_rape_without_blaming_victims/
C'mon Cath. There's a difference between getting "drunk" and, as the ad says, getting so completely wasted "she couldn't say no" and couldn't "stay in control." That's basically drinking until you pass out, which is dangerous for a whole host of things beyond possible date rape (e.g., alcohol poisoning).
Don't give criminals the chance to take advantage of you - it's a reasonable message.
Post a Comment
<< Home