TRIGGER WARNING. Contains rape, sexual assault and a whole heap of angry shit.
See how quick it was to make a shite pun about rape? Yeah welcome to the modern world where rape is a word we can use as freely as asking for a cuppa or saying thank you. Oh he was a bit rapey. How rapey was he/she?!
Rape is not a word I like. Its not a word I enjoy. I was raped. Numerous times. Various ages. Pined down, passed around etc etc. Its not about sex. Its about an abuse of power but at the time, it felt like killing my soul, my very being and for years after, I was raped mentally when I smelt CK1 or heard a certain song. The ripples of damage long done. When a boyfriend pushes a little hard to get me to have a little something-something…yeah I react badly. Poor bloke. He didn’t know my past.
When a promoter chooses to allow a song about rape to go on their stage, they need to be able to say hey I did this because of X, Y and Z. The same goes for creators of content. You need to be able to justify forcing it onto audiences, especially when not aware of what is about to come at them. Art is about challenges. Sometimes they are good and sometimes they are bad. Artists will always produce work to push boundaries. There are certain subject matters that will always cause controversy and I am glad one of them is the topic of rape. I dont condone rape. I would have been a more willing victim if I did. I am however a survivor of rape. I am very vocal at times about what happened to me. Some people are not so vocal. Those silent victims. They are the ones my heart breaks for. You dont need to announce to the world that you were raped, but some cant even admit it to themselves. We should be able to speak openly about rape when able to, discuss it when we can and vilify it. RAPE RAPE BASTARD FRIGGIN CUNTING RAPE!
When using rape in any context, RAPE IS A FUCKING CRIME and has life long repercussions. LIFE LONG. Not two moments and you are all done. Wam bam thank you mam. This isnt just the fucking. This is the life of someone. This is their body, their essence and their rights. If you choose to put on stage something to do with rape, you need to have your answers ready when questioned on it.
We have songs about it, we have tshirts about rape (thanks Forever 21…not) Hell here is a whole heap of films that contain rape or sexual assault in them https://letterboxd.com/queencockatiel/list/movies-with-sexual-assault-rape-in-them/
Aint we a very fortunate society where shit like this we pay to see….because sadly rape is a real life issue. So it doesnt matter if we dress it up in latex and give her a superhero name, or show her taking revenge in a blood bath sword fight, that scene exists because creators know the gut reaction it causes. They know that it happens and people can relate to it. But let me tell you, let me break this shit right down.
If you put rape on a pedestal be it to vilify or take the piss out of, be damn sure you have your ducks in a line when people come asking questions. That goes for promoters, MCs, performers and anyone else.
RAPE IS FUCKING CRIME. PUN INTENDED.
If someone is dismissed over their concerns, how much does that say about society?! Life imitating art….art imitating life.
To my fellow survivors, we got this shit. We got this. We got it together. They dont have us anymore. We are not invisible. To the performer Wildvixen* who spoke out: I salute you. I applaud you. I pity the fool who crosses you.
https://rapecrisis.org.uk/
*Wildvixen is fully aware and happy with this posting. I have ran it by her before and since posting.
