Today I'm actually peeling myself away from the computer for a while to go venture out into the real world, so for now, just a discussion point.
Have you heard about the "I Was Raped" t-shirt?
What do you think about it?
4 Comments
Yes such a t-shirt will be controversial. However, it may be a comfort to the women who have suffered in silence to know that they are not alone.
You know, I don't really know HOW I feel about that. On one hand I think it's a very brave thing to do. On the other hand - the hand of the child that was abused - I cringe.
I feel on both sides as well. On one side, I am all for reclaiming space, and letting people know about that part of you, and getting the word out. On the other side, I wonder two things; a) will it possibly a trigger for people that *have* been raped and bring it back right there and then (just seeing the shirt, not wearing it) and b) will women who are not comfortable wearing such a shirt feel bad about not being ready/able to do such a thing, and feel that they are not "normal" survivors because they AREN'T wearing the shirt?
Hmm. Just some thoughts.
-Essin' Em
I agree with bobolink. There is a degree at which you need to no longer be silent. There's an elephant in the room or the emperor has no clothes, but we can't talk about it.
The reality is too many women and a few men experience rape and aren't encouraged to talk about it in polite company. The silence grows and allows us as a society to not deal with rape in a systematic way to erradicate it. Who wants to be polite about rape? The folks who use rape to define and control women in our society (or men in prison). The threat of rape keeps us off the streets at night alone, etc. Hence take back the night marches of the 80s +
I'm reminded of the "I Had An Abortion" t-shirt that came out a few years back. Wearing allowed the woman to talk about her experience and not be silenced about the choices she made.
