Mani/pedi rape kit…

Nail Polish And Manicure Set by hyena reality via freedigitialphotos.net

Yeah, I finally decided I was going to weigh in on the nail polish thing.  I was standing on the sidelines on this one, but I’m finally going for it.

Just a few points I wanted to make:

1. Not all rape victims are female.  Many men aren’t into wearing nail polish.  To be fair, there are also plenty of women who don’t like nail polish.  Why assume that women will want to add something to their beauty routine?

2. The nail polish is invented by men, which to some people seems to further perpetuate the victim-blaming that often occurs along with rape and sexual assault.  Guys are creating a tool for women to stop rapists as opposed to simply stopping men from raping.  This “tool” makes it feel much more like women are responsible for what happens to them if they are attacked.  “Well, you’re responsible if someone drugs you because you didn’t check your drink.”  Wait, what?  We have to be on the offensive and the defensive at all times? 

3. It can be seen as just another tool for women to use to defend themselves, like carrying mace, a taser, or even a gun.  But the thing is – those are weapons, meant to be used to fight back against a crime being committed, not something that women have to do in order to prevent a crime.

4. And, no, rape is not like putting a bike lock on your bike.  Why not?  We shouldn’t have to assume that our bodies require 24/7 protection!  Yes, stealing a bike is wrong, but rape is rape, asshole!  If you’re looking at crimes within a ranking (and, yes, we do rank the seriousness of crimes, hence the whole levels of misdemeanors and felonies and the ranges of punishments), then rape is a whole lot further along that spectrum than taking a bicycle!  There’s a sex offender registry, but I don’t recall seeing a bike theft registry. 

5. No one is saying that people (men and women) shouldn’t take precautions when it comes to crime.  But when you claim that a failure to take extra precautions (and dipping your nail into every drink that you drink in public is definitely an extra precaution) means that the person “deserved it” is beyond broken.  It doesn’t just happen with rape.  I just saw on my Facebook feed where a woman accused another woman of “asking for it” because someone grabbed her purse out of her shopping cart.  But I find it hard to find anyone on my feed blaming a man for being mugged, even if he was standing drunk at an ATM waving his wad of cash around.

6. Yeah, well, I don’t have a six.  But I’m guessing other people do.  Feel free to share yours in the comments below.  Just remember that I’m a crazy ass feminist, and this is my blog.  This is not a democracy.  So be a douche, and get deleted!

Et tu, Scooby Doo? AKA Women Worry about Being Fat, Men Worry about Their Cars

On this, National Women’s Equality Day, I wanted to look at how equal everyone is.  Except, you know, when it comes to women. 

I think there are two perfect illustrations (literally) of this issue currently in the news.

First, there’s the new Scooby-Doo movie.  I know, it’s not technically released yet, but there have already been spoilers and reviews. 

I think the most important thing about it is the response from Warner Bros to Huffington Post:

“The plot of the movie involves the Scooby gang becoming cursed and losing what means the most to each of them.  Fred loses the Mystery Machine, Shaggy and Scooby lose their appetites, etc.  Daphne loses her good looks (mainly her figure and her hair.

While Daphne is at first upset by the sudden change, there is a touching moment where Fred points out that he didn’t even notice a change and that she always looks great to him.”

Oh, Warner Bros, where do I start with you?

Well, let’s go with the size.  They move her from a size 2 to a size 8.  Yet the animation (as seen at the Huffington Post article), seems to show her at a much larger size.  For comparison, I’ve included a photo of me – and I’m a 10/12.   

I think she might be a wee bit bigger than that.  And, just for comparison, the average woman is a 12 or 14, so a size 8 might not be quite as horrifying as the Scooby gang animators thought.

Then let’s look at the awesomest part of the statement – that “there is a touching moment where Fred points out that…she always looks great to him.”

Wow.  Really?  So as long as a guy likes the way you look, then you’re cool?  It’s okay to be “fat” and have bad hair if a guy is cool with it.  I guess that’s touching?  That a guy would accept her when she’s so unacceptable to the animators?

Second, there’s the “artistic” rendering of Spider-Woman.  Sigh.  Let me repeat – sigh.

Women in comics (and science fiction and fantasy and just about everywhere else) are often portrayed as sex pots and little else.  I can deal with that, even if I’m not happy about it.  We can work to change it, but it won’t be overnight, and we have to get that it’s going to be work.

My problem with the Spider-Woman issue is that…it’s just bad artwork, and no one cared because it’s “sexy.”  People who enjoy the look of Spider-Woman are looking at a true piece of abstract art.  In some, she’s missing body parts (a leg here, organs there), and, as a blogger was kind enough to point out, the position she’s in is one that wouldn’t even work!  She’s ready to land flat on her face!

If we’re going to insist on our women being held to an unrealistic standard, at least let’s try to stick with one that doesn’t involve removing limbs or organs, and definitely let’s avoid anything that makes us fall flat on our faces.

War on Women – Yeah, It’s Real

Okay, so I’m not normally quite this rabid, but this is one of those times when I have to get all frothing and foamy.  (In a bad way.)

Opposing Views, which I follow on FB and read sometimes, had an article that I pulled up about a girl in India who got revenge on her rapist.  It was her uncle, and he was a religious doctor (called a tantrik) who claimed he could heal her but instead raped her.  He wanted her to come back for more “treatment.”  She came prepared – she brought a cell phone and a knife.  She recorded their conversation using the cell phone, and then she castrated him with the knife.  Nice and simple, right?

There’s even a nice picture of people standing around holding a sign that says “Stop Crimes on Women.”

But the rest of the page seems to give a totally different message.  There are five different images across the top that are meant to drag the viewer on.  Of these, four of them are of women: one of an attractive woman crying, mascara smeared; one of two women kissing, labeled “Celebrities That Swing Both Ways!”; one of a woman in very tight, very small clothing with a police officer looking on; the last one of a woman in lingerie and heels in a provocative pose, labeled “The 10 Best Butts in Hollywood!”

Seriously, Opposing Views?  Seriously?  This is the shit that you chose to pair with a story about rape?  Four different stories with images (and probably “stories” – if you can call a list of “best butts” a story) that clearly treat women as objects.  The photo of the woman in small, tight clothing doesn’t even show her face – clearly, that’s not an important part of a woman – and the headline is “New Rule in Seabrook, TX,” although I bet that, whatever was the closest town to the viewer would be reflected there.  It’s click bait.  Meaningless crap that shows women off as, well, meaningless crap.

So I’m no longer following them on FB.  And I’m posting up this blog.  Maybe if they lose enough click-thrus and followers, they might learn that women don’t appreciate being treated this way.  Maybe they’re learn that women should be treated with respect and…oh, who am I kidding?  They’ll never learn.  But at least we can stop giving them their clicks.