This is what Rape Culture looks like

I wasn't planning on making a post about everything going on in Steubenville, Ohio. I think everything that can be said probably has. It's a very, very sad case - made worse by the fact that it's not that unusual. Yes, things spread to a bigger scale with the use of social media and the celebrity-like attitude towards the football team - but the things that were being said are not different. The attitudes, the threats, the humiliation, the cover ups and the victim blaming are in no way unusual. They happen every day in towns all over the world. That's what rape culture is, and it permeates everything.
One thing that's different, thankfully, is the global reaction. People all over the world are finally seeing (and saying!) that this behaviour (all of it, not just rape) is not ok, and that we won't stand for it anymore. People all over the world are finally standing up for victims of sexual assault. A global conversation has been started, and it could mean great new things, someday. Rape culture won't change overnight but more and more people are joining in the efforts to influence it. Here's just some of them:

Dear Jane Doe

http://webelieveyou.tumblr.com/

Dear Jane Doe is a project started with the aim of speaking directly to victims and telling them that they are believed, they are cared for, they are thought of and they are not alone. Of the people running it, some of them are survivors, some aren't - either way, they're all doing something awesome! This is a space to watch!

CNN Petition

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/18/cnn-steubenville-rape-petition_n_2901462.html?ir=Media

Speaks for itself. If you haven't watched the video (TW), it's abhorrent. Reporting like this is part of the reason that rape culture exists and should never happen; this petition is hoping to make sure it doesn't.

Prinniefied.com

http://prinniefied.com/wp/category/steubenville-ohio-gang-rape-case/

The author of prinniefied, a former resident of Steubenville, was one of the first to take great notice of this case and spread needed information about it. She documented things posted on social media that were later removed, which she saved and contributed to the trial. She created a channel for the residents of Steubenville to anonymously discuss the case and give any insight they had. It wouldn't be much of a stretch at all to say she helped convict the rapists, and her blog has become a space for conversation about rape culture and how badly it needs to be changed.

UniteWomen.org

http://www.facebook.com/UniteWomen?ref=stream

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/03/20/1195598/-Stand-Support-Jane-Doe-All-Rape-Survivors-UniteWomen-org-Launches-Worldwide-Campaign

This is a project anyone and everyone can contribute to - whether you are a survivor, whether you know one, whether you're a man or a woman. The idea is simply an inclusive conversation about rape culture and attempting to put an end to the shame, blame and guilt that survivors feel.

Men Can Stop Rape

http://www.mencanstoprape.org/

These people have been around for a while, but they could always use more support and for their actions to be spread and more widely recognized. It'd definitely be worth your while to take a few minutes to look through their site and then share it with a few people!

These are just the outcomes I took the most notice of - people, conversations, projects and movements will probably be springing up from this for months, if not years. The next time something like this happens, there will be less shameful reporting, less opportunity for cover ups to succeed, and hopefully less victim blaming all because a handful of people in the world have said something this time. Because finally we are saying - shouting! - that this is not ok. 

Why We Need Feminism

This might be a bit of a confusing start - this morning I found a picture I wanted to share with people, that was basically just the suggestions Google comes up with when you type things like "women should" or "women deserve". I tried it for myself and it's shocking (you should try it). Anyways, after seeing it this morning I didn't save it (I was on my phone) but decided to try and find it again later to post here. I couldn't find it. So I typed "why we need feminism" into Google images. Here are some things that came up:

(This guy actually had a real and good reason..The idiots that edited it can't even spell "dick".)

We all know people still think like this. During the last presidential elections it became very clear just how badly we still need feminism. Images like these, how common they are and the regular sexist jokes I hear enrage me.

Last year, a male friend at uni asked me if I would call myself a feminist. I said "While I obviously agree with a lot of aspects of feminism, I wouldn't call myself one." He didn't understand why not. Evidently, neither did I. Over the next several months up until now, I regularly pondered that and looked into this whole "feminism" thing, getting more and more angry about how much it's ignored. About how I didn't even understand it enough, at 19, to realize that it's awful hard to be a woman and not be a feminist. There's a dire need in our society to erase the negative connotations surrounding the word "feminism" and replace it with the basic idea that started it: that women are equal to men, and need to be treated as such. That getting paid equally, having the same opportunities, not allowing anyone else to define you, belittle you or have a say in what happens to your body are the most important things we need to make happen. Accomplishing this will take more than just "radical women" fighting for their rights; instead, it will take every woman, and every man that values and respects women. 

On this topic, check out this website: http://www.whoneedsfeminism.com/about.html
Most of the Google images were submissions from there. Some of them are interesting... Some of them are great!