Nancy Schwartzman's The Line Campaign is gaining ground and making
change. Late last month a writer at the Eagle, American University's
Newspaper wrote an article about date-rape and sexual assault. In
essence he asserted that too often women make false claims of rape and
sexual assault after a night of partying.
He wrote:
"Let's get this straight: any woman who heads to an EI party as an anonymous onlooker, drinks five cups of the jungle juice, and walks back to a boy's room with him is indicating that she wants sex, OK? To cry "date rape" after you sober up the next morning and regret the incident is the equivalent of pulling a gun to someone's head and then later claiming that you didn't ever actually intend to pull the trigger. "Date rape" is an incoherent concept. There's rape and there's not-rape, and we need a line of demarcation. It's not clear enough to merely speak of consent, because the lines of consent in sex -- especially anonymous sex -- can become very blurry. If that bothers you, then stick with Pat Robertson and his brigade of anti-sex cavemen! Don't jump into the sexual arena if you can't handle the volatility of its practice!"
Carmen
Rios, an American University student, who has worked closely with The
Line Campaign decided to take the article to task and confront some of
the problematic thinking and reveal how important it is to foster
dialogue about sexual consent. Watch her on CBS news discussing the article and find out more about her own campaign at AU "(con)sensual". Learn more about The Line Campaign , how to get involved and take action like Carmen. "Let's get this straight: any woman who heads to an EI party as an anonymous onlooker, drinks five cups of the jungle juice, and walks back to a boy's room with him is indicating that she wants sex, OK? To cry "date rape" after you sober up the next morning and regret the incident is the equivalent of pulling a gun to someone's head and then later claiming that you didn't ever actually intend to pull the trigger. "Date rape" is an incoherent concept. There's rape and there's not-rape, and we need a line of demarcation. It's not clear enough to merely speak of consent, because the lines of consent in sex -- especially anonymous sex -- can become very blurry. If that bothers you, then stick with Pat Robertson and his brigade of anti-sex cavemen! Don't jump into the sexual arena if you can't handle the volatility of its practice!"
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