People constantly see t-shirts that reinforce gender stereotypes, little girls wear shirts that say "Too cute to do homework" or "Too pretty for Algebra," but now there's another t-shirt causing controversy for boys. It reads: "Calm down dear, let's not turn this rape into murder." Cute right?
The shirt is sold through a British website, Jamrags, that proudly boasts if you don't like their apparel to "fuck off." The site specializes in offensive t-shirts, which is obvious considering the topic of discussion.
The most positive way to look at this is to say it's a joke. But even then it's probably one of the most disgusting ones I've ever heard. This shirt ties in two different ideas from class. First, the socialization of gender, and second, gender-based violence. It backs up the norm that men are supposed to be powerful and dominating, whereas women should be submissive. As I mentioned earlier, there are plenty of shirts for girls that reinforce the stereotype of females relying on their looks to lure men into doing their work, but many people, especially mothers, are particularly outraged with this shirt from Jamrags.
Cafemom stated that this shirt is not only "perpetuating these disturbing gender roles," but it's also encourage men to "stop at rape." As the article pointed out, this shirt is made by people for other people, and that this is considered an acceptable form of attire.
At it's center, the message is basically that a person should be happy they're just getting raped and not murdered. Because I'm sure that's what runs through a rape victim's mind. I agree with the article that it is perpetuating the idea that sexual violence is okay. Which it isn't. At all.
I am completely disturbed by this t-shirt's message; unfortunately, I am not at all surprised. Although people may be outraged by its statement, the fact is that our culture subconsciously espouses this mentality. The rapes that have the highest conviction rate in the US are rape-murder cases because this is viewed as more of a "real" crime than date rape. As terrible as this sounds, society is always more likely to blame the victim than the rapist if she manages to survive (and of course, if she was "dressed a certain way," or drinking, or at an "unsafe place" late at night, she will still be blamed). I think the most important way to change this cultural mindset is to emphasize that rapists cause rapes- not the way women choose to dress or behave.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen a shirt like that before and couldn't believe someone would buy one. The difference between the two shirts are huge, even if they are both reinforcing stereotypes. The one about rape seems to be inferring that it is okay just because the person wasn't killed. Which is not true at all. It is hard enough for a women or even a man to admit they have been raped, and shirts like this aren't helping speak out about it. Yes people do have the freedom to write what they want, but I believe that shirts like this are very inappropriate and should not be sold.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason someone would buy this shirt would be to get a good laugh out of it with their buddies. But they should be more concerned about offending someone who sees it. If a person who has been raped see that, I'm sure they will not be laughing anytime soon. The problem is that society is teaching us to not be raped instead of to not rape. It is terrible that we have come to the point in our culture where if a girl gets raped and she is wearing something revealing she is automatically blamed and said it is her own fault. If this is where we are at right now, I'm afraid to see where we will be in the future.
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