WHAT IS SEXUAL ASSAULT?
Sexual assault is any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape.
Let's be clear. He who shall not be named was not merely bragging about his sexual exploits. He was bragging about committing sexual assault. I don't know a single person who was offended by his use of the word, "pussy" on that recording. It was purely about the fact that he said, "I don't even wait. Just start kissing," and that he justified it by citing his socio-economic status as granting him permission to do as he pleases to any person's body without gaining consent,
"And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything."
It is clear exactly what is being said here. This is not just locker room talk. This is beyond that childish "boys will be boys," bullshit. This is a person clearly saying that they don't need permission, consent, or even a hint of reciprocity, they feel that their fame and fortune grant them access to other people's bodies in the most intimate of ways, regardless of how the other person feels. And if you are defending him, you are just as disgusting, repulsive, and abhorrent as him. Grow the fuck up and realize that your candidate is a vile human being, and should absolutely NOT represent what the United States of America is about, in any sense whatsoever. And get the fuck out of my face with your disgusting defense of sexual assault.
Here's where my reaction to this comes from, as a woman who grew here in a country where rape culture is so prevalent and yet so quickly dismissed as myth or exaggeration, I experienced the following:
1. By the time I learned what it meant to be a virgin, I realized that my virginity had been taken from me long ago, without my permission, and by someone close.
2. When I tried to discuss the sexual abuse with my parents, I got the response, "You have to learn to get along with everyone." They didn't even get it, what I was trying to tell them, and my vocabulary didn't even hold the words "rape" or "sex" or even "bad touch" yet.
3. When I tried to tell my priest about the sexual abuse, he actually did grab me by the pussy and asked me, "Is this where he touched you?" and then went on to tell me how God only punishes naughty girls in this way. Years later, when I went to the Diocese to report that abuse, my claim was dismissed because the school mysteriously lost all record of my attendance there, even though I still, to this day, have year books, report cards, and letters from my teachers.
4. Riding on the school bus at 13 years old was a treat when boys would randomly grab my breasts. One time one boy actually stuck his hands up my skirt. He blamed the bumpy ride for his fingers pushing into me, but I knew better and left a pretty good bruise on him. He didn't try that again.
5. At 19 years old, I endured a male manager who conveniently dropped his pencil under the desk and needed to bend down there to retrieve it every time I wore a dress or skirt to work. When I caught on and switched to slacks, he stopped being so clumsy.
So don't talk to me about "innocent locker room talk" or "school boy banter." Men who talk the way that orange pile of shit talks about women are the reason we have kids like Brock Turner raping unconscious women and then spending less time in prison than I spent recovering from pneumonia. And if you can't understand that, you have much bigger problems than your feigned outrage and defense of the indefensible.
And now I need a shower.
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