A Few Words on Rape as Porn

Heaven help me for the spam I'll attract with that subject line.

This weekend, Twitter and the blogosphere has been filled with the protest of the proposal of a Dr. Wes Scroggins to ban a few books. Among these books is Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, the story of a rape victim. It doesn't take much searching to see that this book has had a profound impact on the lives of teens everywhere, or to see how heartbreaking it is that someone would try to continue to silence the voices of victims. It's wrong. I don't believe in censorship for reasons I explained on Pam's blog during her censorship week.

However, I'm surprised by how many people are objecting by saying rape isn't porn. I have to admit at one point I wondered, "do you live in the same world as me?" (I must be the only one who saw 8mm!) I'm not saying being turned on by rape is sexually healthy, however, violence towards women is on the increase not only in porn but is also perfectly acceptable in mainstream media.

An article about Gail Dines on The Guardian this past July highlights some of the problems with pornography and also the consequences. But you don't have to think too hard to recognize it in film. Have you seen a horror film where some poor woman is killed in a violent fashion while naked? Or a sex scene that seemed far more enjoyable for a man than a woman?

So I am one hundred percent against banning Speak and keeping it from the hands of teens. But I also suggest we have a very big monster on our hands to fight and that this has given us a chance to become more aware of it.