U.S.
Doug Saunders is sure rape culture in the US is a part of our past. Survivors tell him otherwise. He doesn't listen.
- On Saturday, Doug Saunders published a piece in Canada's Globe and Mail titled, "Rape is a crime everywhere, but India's crisis is unique."
- Yesterday, Melissa McEwan responded to this piece with her own at Shakesville, "Another Dude Concern Trolling Rape Activists."
- Today on Twitter, Saunders went full-court press on his position.
@LadySnarksalot @Shakestweetz (It was a discussion of this fact: http://pic.twitter.com/sKomOjYf ) -and if it's possible for other countries to do same
@DougSaunders @LadySnarksalot Yes, crime rates have dropped. Does not mean there is no longer a rape culture. You're dangerously uninformed.- Apparently, within minutes of tweeting at McEwan, Saunders deleted some of his tweets. Interesting editorial choice, Mr. Saunders.
- @DougSaunders And, truly, I can't even begin to tell you how deeply inaccurate it is to believe that rape is "universally" reviled.
- @DougSaunders I have written ~500 pieces over the last 3 yrs on the subject of rape culture, detailing the normalization/acceptance of rape.
- @DougSaunders You need to stop looking at crime rate charts and start talking to survivors, sir.
@Shakestweetz One can acknowledge that something's an all-too-widespread and underprosecuted crime without claiming it's a cultural norm.- @DougSaunders But it's not JUST a widespread & underprosecuted crime, Doug. It is a crime normalized & abetted by cultural narratives.
- @jgeady @DougSaunders @LadySnarksalot It's about a continuum of hostility to consent & agency, which encompasses lots of behaviors.
- @DougSaunders IT IS STILL MAINSTREAM HERE. Talking about rape culture as a relic of the past is absurd.
- @DougSaunders That is not what defines rape culture, Doug. You are arguing against the existence of a concept you don't even understand.
- @DougSaunders Data on beliefs re: actual acts of rape does not represent the complete picture of what constitutes the rape culture.
- @DougSaunders Rape Culture 101. bit.ly/11crULg You might want to read that so you actually have a functional working definition.
- @DougSaunders I am unaware of any place where some degree of hostility toward consent & agency (see: rape culture) is not a cultural norm.
- @Shakestweetz Really. So the sexual politics on the street in Delhi or Cairo are simply slight variants of those in Toronto or Akron?
- @DougSaunders Doug, why so invested in debunking the existence of rape culture, even as you make no effort to understand what it really is?
- @DougSaunders No, not "simply slight variants." Part of the same continuum of hostility for consent and agency.
- @DougSaunders There's no "one worst" rape culture, no crown for the Bestest Rape Culture Evar!
- @Shakestweetz Honest Q: Do you think North America is an innate "rape culture" regardless of level of the crime or tolerance thereof?
- @DougSaunders Doug, with all due respect: What the fuck difference does a change in cultural attitudes make when 1 out of 6 women are raped?
- @DougSaunders Do you actually care, at all, about the victims of rape, or do you just care about winning an argument?
