"Women's sexuality is, socially, a thing to be stolen, sold, bought, bartered, or exchanged by others. But women never own or possess it, and men never treat it, in law or in life, with the solicitude with which they treat property. To be property would be an improvement." MacKinnon (2).
This is one of the many quotes within MacKinnon's article, "Rape: On Coercion and Consent," which really struck me. While the latter part of this quote may be an overly-polemic statement--an umbrella category under which much of the rest of MacKinnon's argument(s) may be categorized--it reminded me of a viral video I was shown in the summer which I had sincerely tried to block from memory. As a disclaimer, I seriously do not recommend that anyone should watch this video, and I also hesitate to even immortalize the existence of such disturbing garbage by writing about it.
The video is called "The Harlem Struggle," and paired with the annoyingly catchy novelty song, "Harlem Shake," are amateur video clips of women choking (or more accurately being choked) on dicks. In light of the recent articles we've read, it's hard to believe that any "gag porn" is really footage of a consensual act--I never doubted the improbability of it being a mutually enjoyed act--however this particular video makes it unabashedly clear that these are NOT consensual acts. In each video clip, a woman proceeds to fellate a man, and once she has "deep-throated," the man squeezes his legs together so that the woman is effectively pinned in that position, and the game is to see how long he can keep her there, and this video is aptly titled because these women undoubtedly struggle. Many faint, some attempt to tap out (as if this is going to be adjudicated like UFC or something), and in the last video clip, the camera-man artistically catches a close up of the woman as she screams and weeps in horror. The recurring theme in each of these videos is that none of the women are prepared for what I truly believe is an attack and another vicious, callous example of sexual assault.
I was shown this video by two male former friends who laughed through its entirety. Once it was finished, one guy said, "Silly bitches. That's what you get for going into porn!"
I'm sure any and every one of you will be just as horrified reading this as I was in that moment, and I'm sorry to say that in the ensuing argument I don't think I made any headway in educating either of them. In that argument it was painfully clear that retrograde ideas about "good victims" and "bad victims," the relevance of women's sexual history in relation to instances of sexual assault, the fallacy of implied consent, etc. are still rampant in today's society. In regards to the aforementioned quote, I have no doubt in my mind that that camera-man values his equipment far more than the assaulted woman, and I also believe with a heavy heart that few of these women reported what happened to them to the police, and I believe none received any justice.
In her article, MacKinnon quotes a reporter, Carolyn Craven, who reflected upon the characteristics of a convicted rapist: "...he felt like an extension, he felt so common, he felt so ordinary, he felt so familiar, and it was maybe that what frightened me the most was that how similar to other men he seemed."
I think in the end that was what upset me the most as well: just how banal and commonplace and frank these two former friends and their revolting opinions were. It's no wonder sexual assault is so diffuse in our society.
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