The Kissing Sailor, or “The Selective Blindness of Rape Culture”
Most of us are familiar with this picture. Captured in Times Square on V-J Day, 1945, it has become one of the most iconic photographs of American history, symbolizing the jubilation and exuberance felt throughout the country at the end of World War II.
http://cratesandribbons.com/2012/09/30/the-kissing-sailor-or-the-selective-blindness-of-rape-culture-vj-day-times-square/
Retroactively trying to change a culture or even using a past culture to criticize a current culture is a fool's errand. I grew up in that culture and never imagined that the sailor asked for prior informed consent of the nurse. Sailors at liberty from an all male environment were expected to be aggressively promiscuous as were most single men at the time.
It was in fact a male aggressive culture, a reflection of the dominant religious culture of female submissiveness. Ask any cheerleader at the time about the victory parties. Or the loss parties for that matter. It was an article of manliness dogma that if you could get a woman in a compromising position good for you! The then current excuse for the man was if the woman didn't want to be molested she should have stayed home. Directly related to the current Muslim attitude to women. It isn't the man's fault if the woman is alone and improperly dressed.
Better to focus on examples of current non-consensual sexual contact which have a better chance of changing current culture than bitching about the past.
Lets fight about this shit:
http://unwinona.tumblr.com/post/30861660109/i-debated-whether-or-not-to-share-this-story
excerpt:
I often ride the Metro when I commute from North Hollywood to Long Beach in order to save money. I bring a book, pointedly wear a ring on my ring finger to imply I’m married (I’m not) and keep to myself.
Without fail, I am aggressively approached by men on at least half of these commutes. The most common approach is to walk up to where I am sitting with body language that practically screams LEAVE ME ALONE and sit down next to me or as close to me as possible, when the train is not crowded and there are many empty rows. Sometimes an overly friendly arm is draped over the railing behind me, or they attempt to lean in close to talk to me as if we are old friends. Without fail, the man or boy in question will lean to close and ask me
What are you reading?
Is that a good book?
What’s that book about?
1 comment:
Yet change the gender of the victim and all will ignore the intrusion and half the men on the train will at least think “damn, he beat me to her.”
Sure it is a minor violation of personal space and most women know how to handle it, but why should they? As long as men are conditioned by society to consider any female on the street or train someone to hit on, women will not be taken seriously in more important areas of life.
I was taught early in life that women, while different, are also people and unless one is “properly introduced” should be inviolate in their personal space. Most important, I was taught that any intrusion into personal space must be the result of a relationship, not a goal. At the very least I would ask permission to take the seat if others were available and respect any answer given. “May I join you” is simple common decency although these days decency does not seem to be common.
When I was single I was normally horny, but thinking about getting laid was simply a stupid frustration. Certainly I would try to find ways to enlarge my circle of attractive women, But attractiveness was defined by the ability to carry on an intelligent conversation rather than body shape or hair color. If I could turn the conversation to intimacy or she could, so much the better, But in that case the sex was better as well.
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