While researching for an essay, I came across the most horrifying thing I have seen in a long time.
The essay is to be 3000 on SlutWalk and Rape Culture. As a victim of sexual assault myself, I have always remained well-read on the topic...SlutWalk is an annual feminist protest sparked by Toronto's Constable Michael Sanguinetti who stated that if women didn't dress like sluts, they wouldn't get raped...and Slut Culture is a term used to illustrate a society in which rape and sexual violence against women are common, and in which prevalent attitudes, norms, and media normalize, excuse, or tolerate sexual violence against women. (I also watch a whole lot of Law&Order SVU, which leaves me feeling educated, too) Tonight however, I found something brand-new. Brand-new and horrifying.
This article describes a new defense that is being played in the courts, to get rapists off. The notion alone is disgusting, I know, but it gets worse.
It's called The Skinny Jean Defense, and claims that pants that tight are impossible to remove without the aid of the wearer. AKA if you claim to have been raped, the pants had to have come off, and if the pants came off, it had to have been consensual.
Well, that makes sense!
Don't get me wrong, I myself feel rather accomplished when I get my skinnies on or off without falling over. However, it's not impossible. And EVEN IF the guy demanded his victim's help, the fact that she unwillingly does what she's told does not, in any way, mean that she is welcoming sex.
It blows my mind that people are able to come up with such repulsive ideas. Never mind how unbelievable it is to know that there are people ignorant enough to believe it.
Shiny Girl wears skinnies, because SHE knows that no still means no.
