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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
informative
I definitely don’t agree with everything she says and I felt like she was always on the edge of making a point but wouldn’t quite articulate it. The chapter Healing the Victim is an interesting perspective though. Overall very thought provoking.
I think this is a very important topic to learn and talk about. I like looking at this through my law school lens but also through my personal experiences.
I think this was quite well written. Did I agree with everything? No. But I think it is still important to learn and read about this. Many facts in this book took me by surprise and I think that they need to be more spoken about.
I think this was quite well written. Did I agree with everything? No. But I think it is still important to learn and read about this. Many facts in this book took me by surprise and I think that they need to be more spoken about.
it feels very muddled and surface level. there are instances of victim blaming that rubbed me the wrong way, there's a lot of "this is what a real victim is" bullshit too, that i loathe. i don't think greer has ever been assaulted by a family member, or she wouldn't be so adamant on victims exposing those who have hurt them.
i did enjoy some of it, it had good observations here and there: "Once upon a time everyone knew what rape was; it was the stealing of a woman from the man or men who owned her", "If a man punches you in the eye, you are not expected to have pleaded with him not to for the crime to be accepted as an assault. If you are sitting at your cash register and someone demands the cash in it, you will not be accused of consent if you simply hand it over.", and "Rape is not a sex crime, but a hate crime." specifically.
however, this particular part made me extremely uncomfortable and upset with it: "If the women who complained in 2002 and 2003 had stuck to their guns these two women might still be alive."
how poor of a feminist you have to be to imply it is their fault that two women were killed. only to talk about how men hate women so much after. they did not kill them by retracting their statement, the killer did by taking their lives. shameful shit.
i did enjoy some of it, it had good observations here and there: "Once upon a time everyone knew what rape was; it was the stealing of a woman from the man or men who owned her", "If a man punches you in the eye, you are not expected to have pleaded with him not to for the crime to be accepted as an assault. If you are sitting at your cash register and someone demands the cash in it, you will not be accused of consent if you simply hand it over.", and "Rape is not a sex crime, but a hate crime." specifically.
however, this particular part made me extremely uncomfortable and upset with it: "If the women who complained in 2002 and 2003 had stuck to their guns these two women might still be alive."
how poor of a feminist you have to be to imply it is their fault that two women were killed. only to talk about how men hate women so much after. they did not kill them by retracting their statement, the killer did by taking their lives. shameful shit.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
dark
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault
challenging
sad
fast-paced
some interesting parts (“you wouldn’t be expected to beg someone not to punch you in the eye” etc.) but there is some weird victim blaming that paints greer as one of those women who is ‘too strong willed’ to let rape ruin her life. also very confused by the chapter about how penises aren’t weapons, almost like greer forgot her previous discussions about how violent rape can be? also very white/middle class/western/cishet but that’s to be expected.
edit: finding out that Greer is violent transphobe makes me feel better about disliking her work
edit: finding out that Greer is violent transphobe makes me feel better about disliking her work
reading the whole thing, i am glad Germaine has written this piece. the media keep looking for nasty sensationalism to make her look crazy. but Greer knows this topic inside out and she explores the many many angles. because rape is NOT one thing. and without discourse about all aspects of this difficult subject it will continue to be a nightmare for our daughters into the future. yes there were incendiary moments where i thought “wait, what ?!” but when you put the statement back into the context of the chapter, she is making a good point.
some quotes i highlighted in my copy were:
[in a chapter exploring the reality rape comes in different shades including the least discussed, but most common, where husbands cajole wives into capitulation, which does not equal consent]
“non-consensual sex is banal and deeply ordinary, but that is not to say that it is not an evil, with damaging consequences”
[in a chapter looking at seeking justice for survivors of the more prosecutable, violent rapes, and the potential failure of “restorative justice” letting the survivor face her perpetrator]
“there is nothing restorative justice can achieve if the perpetrator does not accept some responsibility, does not admit that he or she is guilty, and does not repent”
[a surprising admission from a perpetrator in a private phone call from the survivor of gang rape]
“you’re not crazy. i was there. i remember. it happened.”
each of these quotes i have tried to provide the whole chapters context for, but it is difficult, you should read the whole thing, as a whole, and not just the reactionary moments. because it’s an important issue for ALL of us, and an important essay.
some quotes i highlighted in my copy were:
[in a chapter exploring the reality rape comes in different shades including the least discussed, but most common, where husbands cajole wives into capitulation, which does not equal consent]
“non-consensual sex is banal and deeply ordinary, but that is not to say that it is not an evil, with damaging consequences”
[in a chapter looking at seeking justice for survivors of the more prosecutable, violent rapes, and the potential failure of “restorative justice” letting the survivor face her perpetrator]
“there is nothing restorative justice can achieve if the perpetrator does not accept some responsibility, does not admit that he or she is guilty, and does not repent”
[a surprising admission from a perpetrator in a private phone call from the survivor of gang rape]
“you’re not crazy. i was there. i remember. it happened.”
each of these quotes i have tried to provide the whole chapters context for, but it is difficult, you should read the whole thing, as a whole, and not just the reactionary moments. because it’s an important issue for ALL of us, and an important essay.
I’m conflicted. Whilst on one hand there is some interesting and relevant points here, they feel almost undermined and belittled by the rampant victim blaming. I don’t know, a lot of it made me feel, for lack of a better word, yucky and uneasy.