I was hoping to write about another topic this week but in the wake of frosh week here in the colony of Canada we need to be discussing rape culture. Let’s not shy away, as have in other media sources, from the real impact and meaning of the chants that have been peppered throughout the headlines in the last week.
The word is RAPE! It is not sexism. If I may correct the headlines like this one from the Globe and Mail: “Saint Mary’s president fights the echoes of a sexist chant.” It was not sexist to promote the rape of an underage girl; maybe the Globe and Mail should be checking their thesaurus because the last time I checked, rape wasn’t a synonym for sexism.
The fact that news sources refer to a chant about raping young women as sexist is a true indicator that we’re living in a rape culture that tacitly excuses violent rape. These same attitudes are also responsible for shifting the responsibility of rape (victim blaming) onto women (who are the primary victims, and survivors, of rape).
These events serve to remind us why we need feminism more than ever. Become an active participant in creating a society where no one has to live in fear because of their identity.