Inside the turtle's shell

littlecat:

tofuho:

Rape and the way Tumblr users use that word

ribbonspooncat:

I don’t speak English very well and sometimes, I avoid saying what I think of because that. I’m always afraid people will misunderstand what I’m going to say and it’s going to be a wank!fest or something, but really, I would like to say something. It has to do with the way people on Tumblr use words. I’m going to be specific and talk about “rape.”
Oh, I know, no one really likes to talk about it, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people posting or reblogging a post with that word.
“I’m going to rape your askbox,” or, “Thank God I’m ugly, no one is going to rape me.”
When I see that, I just want to bang my head against the keyboard. People, are you serious?
When you use this word to say stupid things like that (for the record, just because you are ugly does not mean you’ll never be raped), what you are doing is so insensitive. Come on.
Sure, there will always be people who will see this and say: “Relax, chill, whatever, you’re taking things too seriously.” But I have to say, have you ever been raped?
If it has happened to you, then you know. You know the word “rape” is important. Why? Because it’s the only word that can explain what happened to you.
In case you don’t know, people who are raped usually blame themselves. They think, “It’s my fault,” and they have a very hard time saying, “I’ve been raped,” because they don’t want to acknowledge that something so awful actually happened to them. So when people use the word out of context, or when they name their blog “rapemecelebrityilike”, they’re doing a huge disservice to the people who have actually been raped. Words are important. When you use “rape” to mean something it doesn’t mean, it’s not a joke. It’s not funny. You’re stealing something very important from us.
People who survived rape need this word. They need it because otherwise nothing they experienced makes sense.
It’s tragic when you can’t find words to explain what happened to you.
So really, I beg you, think of the survivors. Think of the people who can’t say the word without wanting to cry.
Please. Be considerate.

I try to avoid using ‘rape’ in public posts because I don’t want to unnecessarily offend someone.. but I do not really agree with going around telling people they can’t use it according to the other definition (to spoil or destroy something/a place, eg rape an askbox), or as a joke. I don’t think these tumblrs are targeting or directed at rape victims, yet it’s almost as if you are looking to be offended, despite the context. If you don’t appreciate the content of a tumblr, don’t bother with it?

I really don’t think people are “looking to be offended” =/ Survivors can be triggered by those words. We live in a society where victims are blamed for their rapes and asked to “get over it”. Their pain is minimized. A serious crime is taken lightly. I seriously doubt people like getting offended. Besides, it’s really messed up to tell people how they really feel about stuff that has happened to them.

And I may be getting a bit into TMI territory, but that shit goes way beyond unfunny when you see one of the people you love the most in the world reduced to tears because they’ve been raped, they’re pregnant and their parents believe it’s just an excuse to cover the guy’s identity.