Tag Archives: rape

Girl Talk: The Harm In Labeling Someone “Harmless”

The Soapbox
Why "creep-shaming" is total BS. Read More »
Drunk Is A Feminist Issue
Why women everywhere should be concerned about binge-drinking. Read More »
Too Drunk?
If you're a drunk woman who gets raped, will you be taken seriously? Read More »

I just got back from a totally blissful six-day vacation in Tulum, Mexico, a quiet beach town about two hours from Cancun. I went alone. I’ve traveled solo (i.e. not in the company of a friend, boyfriend, or family member) before, but always as part of an organized group. This trip was the first time I was traveling alone without built-in activities and social opportunities. It was wonderful. I really enjoy my own company and loved having the freedom to do whatever I wanted — including nothing. But as a single woman traveling alone to a foreign country, I also knew I needed to be cautious and mindful of my safety. I took cabs at night if the area I was going to wasn’t well-lit, I locked my cabana door tight at night even though the ocean breeze would have cooled things down, and I kept a watchful eye on my drink at all times. Keep reading »

Dominique Strauss Kahn Accused Of Gang Rape By Prostitute

DSK Accused
dominique strauss kahn photo
Eight things to know about sexual assault accusations against DSK. Read More »
Wife Considers Divorce
Anne Sinclair and DSK photo
DSK's wife Anne Sinclair has had enough of this BS. Read More »
DSK Case To Become Porn
Dominique Strauss Kahn photo
DSK's sex assault case will become "Dominique Sex King" porn. Read More »

What hasn’t Dominique Strauss Kahn been accused of? 

The former chief of the International Monetary Fund —who resigned in shame after he was accused of sexually assaulting a New York City hotel maid in May 2011 — allegedly participated in a gang rape of a prostitute, prosecutors claim. DSK is currently being investigated for his involvement in “The Carlton Affair” — a prostitution ring which worked out of the Carlton Hotel in the city of Lille, France.

One 25-year-old sex worker allegedly employed by DSK told investigators that she was forced into group sex — a gang rape — by DSK and three of his friends at the W Hotel in Washington, D.C., in December 2010. At the time of the alleged incident, DSK was still the president of the IMF. Keep reading »

Justice Dept. To Investigate Handling Of Sexual Assaults At University Of Montana

Should I Be Scarred?
This woman wonders if she should be more scarred by her date rape. Read More »
Rapey Ad
rapey belvedere ad photo
Whoa, that's hella inappropriate, Belvedere vodka. Read More »
CDC Sex Assault Data
woman attacked photo
Adolescent girls and preteen boys are at the highest risk for sexual assault. Read More »

The U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday that it will launch an investigation into how the University of Montana at Missoula handled over 80 sexual assault reports in the past three years and whether proper procedures were followed.

Eleven of those alleged sexual assaults took place in the past 18 months and at least two of them involve footballer players from the school’s University of Montana Grizzlies team. As recently as December, a female student alleged she was gang raped after possibly being drugged by several male students.

Keep reading »

DJ Dominic Dieter Tells Father To Have Daughter Raped To Make Her Straight

Rapey Ad
rapey belvedere ad photo
Whoa, that's hella inappropriate, Belvedere vodka. Read More »
Should I Be Scarred?
This woman wonders if she should be more scarred by her date rape. Read More »

On air Friday, Cleveland radio personality DJ Dominic Dieter advised the father of a teen girl who was caught kissing another girl that he should have one of his friends rape the young woman so she was “screw[ed] straight.” On the syndicated morning talk/comedy show “Rover’s Morning Glory,” Dominic Dieter read an apparent email from a man who asked what to do after his teen daughter kissed another girl. “You should get one of your friends to screw your daughter straight,” Dieter said.  Keep reading »

Did Last Night’s Episode Of “Game Of Thrones” Need A Trigger Warning?

"Game Of Thrones" Returns!
A look at season two! Read More »
Mind Of Man
Don't judge John DeVore for reading "Game of Thrones." Read More »
Rape In "True Blood"
Jason True Blood photo
The show has a way of glossing over rape. Read More »

I’m a big fan of HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” I’ve seen every episode, carry a torch for Peter Dinklage’s character Tyrion Lannister, and revel in the show’s embrace of nudity, sex and violence. (I’ve even got the books tucked away for my upcoming trip to Mexico — woot woot!) But did anyone else think last night’s episode went, dare I say it, a bit too far? As Emily McCombs noted over at xoJane, that scene featuring King Joffrey – and if you watched, you know what scene I’m talking about — needed a trigger warning like WHOA. Mind you, sexual violence is nothing new on “Game of Thrones” — I swear, rape is threatened or referred to in nearly every episode — but this particular depiction, in which Joffrey forces one prostitute to beat and sexually torture another prostitute for his amusement (OMG, he is THE WORST!), was almost too much for me to take. And then I found out, via my own personal GoT Encyclopedia, John DeVore, that the scene didn’t even happen in the books! Though the TV series has basically stuck to George R. R. Martin’s material from the onset, the writers/producers decided to add that scene just for funzies, I guess? Because we didn’t already hate Joffrey enough? GoT fans, what did you think? [xoJane]

Today’s Lady News: Extra-Large Condom Ad Zeroes In On Ladies Scared Of Big Penises

Today's Lady News photo
  • Big penises have us running to lock ourselves in the bathroom, don’t they, ladies? That’s what the ad agency behind a (real?) ad for Prudence Extra-Large Condoms wants to think. Although the idea of the ad is clever — a long, wordy rant from a guy trying to be “persuasive” — the actual text is kind of rapey, especially the line about “the screams are part of the fragile lady role.” Sorry, bros, but your condom ad is not sexy. [Buzzfeed]
  • Are black women “thinspo” blogs — aka, “thin inspiration” blogs — on the rise? [Clutch Magazine]
  • Meet Katie Ricks, the first-ever openly lesbian minister to be ordained by the Presbyterian Church. [Pam's House Blend] Keep reading »

Girl Talk: Our Drinks Were Roofied

Date Rape Drug Test
date rape drug photo
A date rape drug test may soon be available. Read More »
Terrible Advice
woman drinking beer photo
Dear Prudence gave crap advice regarding a possible date rape. Read More »
I Was Date Raped
Amelia was date raped in college by a guy she liked. Read More »

“We have a ride to the club tonight,” my friend announced. We left our dormitory and headed into the vehicle of a man my friend met a party.

In the vehicle, a young man that I recognized from a nightclub we frequented was in the driver’s seat. I asked his name because, other than dancing with him a few times, I knew nothing about this guy. As a matter of fact, I had no clue how he knew my friend, since the last few visits he was on my dance card.

“I recognize you,” I had actually said to him before asking his name.

His surprise and hesitation about revealing his name was all it took to make me suspicious. That’s because in addition to being a hypochondriac, I’m a killer-chondriac. As a killer-chondriac, I think everyone is the killer until proven otherwise. But what I realized that night was we don’t think of other ways strangers can do harm. So I dulled the alarm bells.  

Actress From Rapey Belvedere Vodka Ad Files Lawsuit

Rapey Ad
rapey belvedere ad photo
Belvedere vodka's new ad is pretty rapey. Read More »
Rape Jokes On Facebook
caveman photo
Joking about raping women is cool with Facebook. Read More »
Sexual Assault Joke
esquire tweet
Esquire magazine tweets a joke about sexual assault. Ha? Read More »
Sexist Ads
Not all advertising campaigns are sexist and offensive. Read More »

Two weeks ago, Belvedere Vodka tweeted an ad depicting a man pulling a surprised, open-mouthed woman down onto his lap. The headline read: “Unlike some people, Belvedere always goes down smoothly.” Decent people got the skeevies and called the ad out as rapey. Belvedere quickly tweeted that they were sorry “if any of our fans were offended” — but not sorry for the actual creepy ad — and made a donation to the Rape And Incest National Network.

Now, Alicyn Packard, the actress who starred in a comedy sketch from which Belvedere appropriated her image, is suing its parent company Moet Hennesey. Packard’s lawsuit claims emotional distress from appearing in such a reviled ad and claims Belvedere did not have permission to use her image (misappropriation of likeness). The company allegedly ganked her image from a comedy video made by her company, Strickly Viral Productions. “To be affiliated with an ad that’s so offensive to so many has just been horrible,” she told KTLA. Keep reading »

Rape Case Dismissed Against Saudi Prince (Who Also Happens To Be One Of The World’s Richest Men)

Date Rape Drug Test
date rape drug photo
A date rape drug test may soon be available. Read More »
Saudi Women Can Vote
The King of Saudi Arabia declares women can vote. Read More »
I Was Date Raped
Amelia was date raped in college by a guy she liked. Read More »

A Spanish court dismissed a rape case against a Saudi prince and billionaire, after it was decided there was not sufficient evidence to press charges. Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, 57, the nephew of King Abdullah, had been accused of raping a Spanish model on a yacht owned by the Saudi royal family off the island of Ibiza in August 2008. The prince claimed he had not been in Ibiza at the time and had in fact been in France with his family, which dozens of witnesses can allegedly confirm, his lawyers claim. It does not seem to be in dispute that the then-20-year-old woman was attacked, however. She sent a text message to a friend on the night of the alleged attack saying she thought her drink had been spiked;  when the victim was examined afterwards, her urine contained a sleep-inducing tranquilizer and semen. Apparently that DNA evidence has never been tested against the prince’s DNA. The victim claims that the case — which was already dismissed once before by a lower court for lack of evidence — is not being handled with due seriousness because the man she has accused is one of the richest, most powerful men in the world with stakes in NewsCorp and CitiGroup.

Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: Rep. Gwen Moore Shares Her Own Rape Story Before Congress (NSFW)

CDC Sex Assault Data
woman attacked photo
Adolescent girls and preteen boys are at the highest risk for sexual assault. Read More »
Today's Lady News
Today's Lady News
Catch up on all your women's news. Read More »
Rep. Gwen Moore photo
  • While pushing for reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) recounted the story of her own sexual assault as a child and rape as a young woman. “Violence against women is as American as apple pie,” Rep. Moore said. “I know, not only as a legislator, but from personal experience. Domestic violence has been a thread throughout my personal life, up to and including being a child repeatedly sexually assaulted, up to and including being an adult who’s been raped.” Much respect to her for sharing her personal story in such a public way. [Huffington Post
  • Adrienne Rich, feminist poet and essayist, died yesterday at age 82. [L.A. Times]
  • Out students at West Point are filming the military school’s first Gay-Straight Alliance since the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal. [Queerty] Keep reading »