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Archive for the 'skaters' Category
SOCHI Dream Podiums & Predictions
Well, Olympics and figure skating fanciers, it's that special time again, as we're on the cusp of another Winter Games: Sochi 2014! Care to share any dream podiums or predictions? My dream podiums contain sentimental or personal favorites. Predictions are simply that…predictions, no preferences applied.
Here are mine:
Mao Asada
Carolina Kostner
Akiko Suzuki
Daisuke Takahashi
Jeremy Abbott
Jason Brown
team event:
Mao Asada
Julia Lipnitskaia
Yuna Kim
Yuzuru Hanyu
Patrick Chan
Tatsuki Machida
team event:
Nice Worlds' Reflections: My Questions Answered
Shortly after the World Figure Skating Championships were a wrap in Nice, France, I messaged a friend who attended my frustrated questions and musings about the results to see if he could offer an insider point of view. They included questions about the Chan/Takahashi, Davis & White/Virtue & Moir, and Weaver & Poje/Pechalat & Bourzat rivalries. I wondered if seeing their performances live might shed light on the results in a way that my tv viewing couldn't.
Well, Aaron over at Axels, Loops & Spins answered all of my questions in rather grand fashion. I was pleasantly surprised by his thorough responses, via his blog.
Read his responses in "Post Nice Reflections"
Find out…
"What happened to the House of Sato/Dunjen?…"
"Were Kavaguti/Smirnov decked for their public commentary on the ice?"
"Did Weaver/Poje deserve the bronze?…"
…and more!
The View From My Seat: San Jose 2012 Nationals
I enjoyed capturing the magic of the US Nationals Long Programs and Free Dances from my 16th row seats. My Canon PowerShot SX 2010 IS, although not a professional SLR, gets me close to the action, with its 14X zoom.
There were so many unforgettable moments, more predictably including the tributes to Rudy and Michelle, and LPs/FDs by gold medalists Jeremy Abbott, Davis & White, and Denney & Coughlin. But, brilliance from dark horses Ashley Wagner and Adam Rippon, as well as up-and-comers Jason Brown, Jonathan Cassar and Doug Razzano, and a rallying comeback from Carolyn Zhang were equally thrilling. My top 20 photos reflect some of these moments, and more.
I hope you enjoy the view from my seat!
Best Skating Programs of the Season: 2010
The Grand Prix Landscape
It's that time of year, when we've witnessed 4 of the 6 Grand Prix events, and can now step back and assess the choreographic and program landscape, to compare and contrast what the skaters have put out there. Just a few of these skaters (and a single musical selection) are repeaters from last season's list.
I was loath to include ANY latin programs, since I already feel like a sponge, saturated and dripping from them this season (likely no thanks to Lysacek and Rochette's success in them last season?). But, alas, a few virtuosic ones eek'd through. Ugh…let's please hang them up for the remainder of this Olympic cycle!
What's the real clincher in making the list? Programs that made me want to watch them again. As I noted last year, it's impossible to separate out the performance quality of the skater, but these nods aim to be more about the program and choreo itself. The timing and execution of the elements (especially jumps) to key musical accents and phrases is critical for memorable emotional impact. And musical selection alone, as per my own subjective taste also of course plays a role.
Lori Nichol and Marina Zueva tie this year with the most nods (3 each). I also encourage you to compare my nods to Tony Wheeler's own compelling list. We agreed on three as most notable. Sometimes it's VERY clear what's peerless! The list does not include Kim Yu-Na, Joanie Rochette, Virtue & Moir, or any other skaters/teams who are not decisively retired and may emerge at their Nationals.
Men's SP
Daisuke Takahashi: Historia de un amor, Que rico mambo, and Mambo No. 5 by Perez Prado; Batucada by DJ Dero; (Choreo: Shae-Lynn Bourne). Too predictable a choice? This brilliance can't be denied.
Runner-Up: Shawn Sawyer, Assassin's Tango by John Powell (Choreo: David Wilson)
Honorable Mentions: Javier Fernandez's Histoire d'un amour/Nu Pogodi, and Tomas Verner's Singin' in the Rain!
Is Kristi Yamaguchi Jewish?
On our way to Palm Springs we discovered a wondrous thing: the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame Kristi Yamaguchi relief sculpture portrait and placard. It deems her "one of the most electrifying skaters in the modern era." That's not a word I would associate with her…perhaps "consistent," "committed," "graceful," "inspiring," "smooth"?
I mean no disrespect to Kristi, but as you can see, this portrait bears as much a resemblance to her as to the love child of Tracy Gold and Joan Rivers. On that note, a friend noted that she looked Jewish. Maybe she is?
But, judge for yourself…
Weir & Lysacek Immortalized
All the recent Weir/Lysacek mud-slinging, via the media is so silly and meaningless to me, I won't even detail the ongoing bitch brawl here (and you likely already read it elsewhere). Clearly, they're milkin' this opportunity to increase their media presence (ie: "No press is bad press").
BUT, when I came across this photo, I felt it said it all. They are in a sense forever linked, in their "rivalry," and burgeoning off-ice, celebrity careers. So, what better way to to forever immortalize them as yin-yang/brothers/lovers/
soulmates (take your pick) in a fabulously flashy, fey, artistic portrait, ala Kings of 80's Cheese: Hall & Oates?!
I'm not sure if NoMad Blogger created it or not (it appears not, as she included the zimbio.com credit), but I take no credit for this masterpiece. If you know the source (perhaps Toller Cranston?), please provide it, and I'll gladly update the credit.
I now give you…
jcm Nominated for "Blog of the Year": Vote Now!
I am thrilled to be one of the Top 6 nominees for "Blog of the Year," in Axels, Loops and Spins' "3rd Annual Loop Axel Awards"! Although AL&S has apparently pre-determined his winners, if you like what you see/read/hear here, please vote for me there (under "Comments," or click on his "View my complete profile" and email him directly), to help sway the deal for jumping clapping man! And, while you're there, enjoy seeing Aaron's other Awards. Last year Lifeskate.com deservedly won for best blog.
I'm takin' a shameless page from Kathy Griffin's "book," and launching a guerilla marketing campaign for votes (Avenue Q also won the Tony this way in 2004!). Of course, I think I should be up for "Best New Face," and "Best Outfit" too. 😉 Thank you kindly for returning to jcm, (and even more for your votes)!
The Best of jcm Rink Side
Here's a look back at some highlights of my skating posts, balancing legit commentary with high camp. Click here to see all/only my skating-related posts:
A Rivalry Reignited: Torino Worlds Ladies FS, and other Worlds' posts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
"GAY Stars On Ice & Friends!" PRESENTS: (My response to the "Stars on Ice" "family friendly" assertion, and supposed Johnny shut-out.)
Vancouver Games: Week 1 Supersized Recap, and other Olympics' posts: 1, 2
jcm's Olympics' Podium Predictions Contest, and Winners (What other blog gives away money…and for free!?)
The Best of Spokane: Buttercups, Fizzles & Knives
Skaters Who Blew Through the Technical Ceiling (A robust technical overview.)
Ghoulish Figure Skating Clinics (Some Halloween season fun…yes, at the mercy of skaters.)
Olympic Reigns Ending: Likelihoods or Naysaying? (I nailed it! Bet your money on my soothsaying next time.)
Yu-Na Gets A Makeover! (Yes, I even made-over Yu-Na.)
[UPDATE: AL&S has announced that senior ice dancer Todd Gilles' entertaining Vlog "Blips of Todd…" is the winner.]
Cohen & Czisny's Opera on Ice Duet
When I originally read the "Stars On Ice" program lineup, the highlight, hands-down, was the prospect of a Cohen/Czisny performance of Delibes' "Flower Duet," from Lakmé. It was the only number that came close to the inventiveness of my "GAY Stars on Ice…" lineup! (Yuka Sato's "Clair de Lune" was also enticing.) Well, since I don't plan to attend the show live, thankfully a youtube video of it has surfaced, however janky and incomplete it may be.
Unfortunately, it feels quite underrehearsed, which is odd for the two perfection queens of the ice. But, it's still quite pleasing, considering their peerless, but comparable spiral positions. Hello Charlottes…I've missed you so! It's quite the "Anything you can do, I can do better" routine. Good thing they don't attempt any of those pesky jumps.
Also, my hopes for some hint at the implied (or projected?) lesbian subtext of the duet were dashed. No surprise there. Although, I'm still tempted to bill this the "Spiral Bump" routine (ala "Donut Bump").
The full name of the scene is: "Viens, Mallika, les liens en fleurs…Sous le dôme épais." In the context of the opera, "Lakmé and her servant Mallika are left behind and go down to the river to gather flowers…As they approach the water at the river bank, Lakmé removes her jewelry and places it on a bench (while they bathe)" (Wikipedia). It is one of the examples of grand opera's and mainstream culture's obsessions at the time with eastern exoticism and orientalism (also evident in Madama Butterfly).
The duet was also famously used to set the tone in the beautiful, overtly lesbian scene with Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon, in "The Hunger." It uses it to full effect.
Below is the libretti excerpt. What do you think? Is the lesbian subtext intended, or projected by the viewer or culture of the time?
Under a dome of white jasmine
With the roses entwined together
On a river bank covered with flowers laughing in the morning
Gently floating on it's charming risings
On the river's current
On the shining waves
One hand reaches
Reaches for the bank
Where the spring sleeps and
The birds, the birds sing.
Under a dome of white jasmine
Ah! calling us
A Rivalry Reignited: Torino Worlds Ladies FS
Expect the Unexpected
Miki Ando: When the commentators talk about Miki's "blank" eyes, what they're not getting at is that she just doesn't have the same "acting" ability as someone like Yu-Na or Phaneuf (ie: compare their Cleopatras). It's not just about "spunk," or "personality"…these girls know how to tell a story with each glance and gesture. I think that's a gift, but surely it can be nurtured, if there is a willingness. However, Miki doesn't seem to tap into that deeper well, and may just not be capable of that degree of nuance. That being said, she skates a clean program, albeit sans her 3/3 (instead a 3Lz/2T), and rather emotionally dull. A respectable end of season for her, whether she medals or not!
Kim Yu-Na (2nd): It seems all the world is hanging on this performance. The moment she starts it becomes evident that Miki was largely just skating around doing elements. Even though it's clear Yu-Na is skating "safe," she still gives each move a purpose. She starts strong, but falls on her 3S, and gives up on her final 2A, popping it. Honestly, I like that she has a chink in her armor (pardon the pun). This does enliven the rivalry with Mao, and frankly, doesn't allow fans and viewers to just assume she'll skate clean (ala Kristi, or M.K. when not at the Olympics). It makes her vulnerable, and almost more interesting to me. My friend Richard jokes that "Queen" isn't enough…she should have a planet named after her: "Yu-Na." Her name even sounds a bit cosmic.
Cynthia Phaneuf: Again, Phaneuf's Cleopatra makes Miki's look emotionally junior. She skates a clean program, and lands 6 triples! How unexpected. I hope this gives her renewed confidence for next season. She competes so hot and cold, but is SO talented. She does telegraph her jumps a bit too much, but who cares, if she can skate like this!
Mahler Reigns Again: Torino Worlds Ice Dance FD
A Fond Farewell
Navarro & Bommentre: I will miss this program, and this team. Although part of me wishes Belgosto had competed so we could finally capture our North American sweep, I'm happier that NavBomm could compete, and enjoy their presumable competitive farewell at such a high level.
The skate didn't have as strong an emotion for me as it did at Nationals, but part of that may be that the camera work feels less personal and nuanced here, and Nationals is just a more "homey" and warm setting for skaters and fans. That being said, they gave a strong skate, with only a small lack of twizzle unison, and a blade catch for him during a transition. They get -1 deduction, presumably for a lift that was too long. If this is the end, you have given fans so much pleasure, and I can't wait to see what you'll do in Pros! Next up…as per their backstage interview: Italian wine, cheese, culture, art. Well deserved pleasures!
Other Early Highlights
Crone & Poirier: He has one of the best backs of the men in this competition! I love this program…gentle, lyrical, and intimate, starting with "Nocturne." He especially is a very engaging performer, and really communicates with her throughout. I was amazed to discover that he's a singles' skater too (as is she), as the requirements of ice dance are so different. I love the transition into their mid-section, a lyric version of "Bohemian Rhapsody." I'm developing a skating crush on him…seems to be such a vulnerable guy in the kiss-n-cry. Great speed on their spins! I get a kick out of their Coraline-looking coach!
The Zaretskys: A dramatic, somber couple, and program. I feel their costumes are actually TOO stark, and the accent colors too subtle, and too much of a dark wall to draw me in. The tempo of the music is also largely the same throughout the program, not providing the emotional ups-and-downs that a program like Marlie's provides. Their spins feel slower than the prior Canadians, and I was surprised they were placed ahead of the them…but, by only 1 pt.


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Head to the Vinyl Beat website to check out extensive LP label guides and wild cover galleries!
Before Reggae, Rock Steady, and Ska, Calypso was the folk music of the English speaking Caribbean. Like all good folk music, calypsos told stories in song and were often written to celebrate topical events. The music originated with slaves on the plantations. By the golden era of the late 1920s and '30s, there were many diverse influences including music heard from U.S. radio waves that reached the islands.
Here's what Wikipedia says: Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago during the early to mid-20th century. Its rhythms can be traced back to West African Kaiso and the arrival of French planters and their slaves from the French Antilles in the 1600s.
Some of the earliest recordings were by Atilla the Hun, and The Roaring Lion, in the early 1930s.
|Atilla – "Roosevelt in Trinidad"
|Roaring Lion – "Ugly Woman"
Next came Lord Invader and Wilmoth Houdini in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

subset: commoncrawl


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Putting You On The Map!


text: Job Discussion Forums :: View topic - Certified teacher positions in Spain? Get TEFL Certified & Start Your Adventure Today! Job Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in Certified teacher positions in Spain? Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Spain View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message ghostJoined: 30 Jan 2003Posts: 1693Location: Saudi Arabia Posted: Thu May 01, 2003 3:08 pm Post subject: Certified teacher positions in Spain? Hi folks, I'm a Certified teacher with a B.Ed. in Education, and a holder of a British and Canadian passport (with the right to work in Europe). Do any of you folks have information about teaching English in Spanish Elementary and High schools? Is a B.Ed. necessary to teach there, or do they take any 'native language speakers' as they do in other Latin American countries? Having invested in all that education, I would rather work in a school or University, as opposed to a 'language school.' I also have a B.A., M.A. and T.E.S.L. Certificate (in addition to the B.Ed.). Fluent Spanish also. Thanks for any leads folks. Back to top SevJoined: 27 May 2003Posts: 3 Posted: Wed May 28, 2003 10:21 am Post subject: Not an easy thing at all. Your qualifications sound good, and they are the kind of qualifications which would definitely appeal to private schools in Spain. Getting into the public (state) system is practically impossible for foreigners. Each teacher who wishes to work in the public system must write an "oposición" (a government exam), along with all the other people who wish to work as teachers. Exam results are then considered with other factors (including past experience, higher degrees, etc.). The number of jobs available each year is shrinking, which means that you would be up against a sizeable number of Spaniards who are similarly qualified -- but who would be accepted first because, as Spanish/EU citizens, are given priority in teacher recruitment. Sev Madrid, Spain Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Job Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Spain All times are GMT Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Where to Begin----------------General DiscussionNewbie ForumCurrent Events ForumTechnology ForumOnline Teaching Forum Africa Forums----------------General Africa Forum Asia Forums----------------CambodiaChina (Job-related Posts Only)China (Off-Topic)Hong KongIndiaIndonesiaJapanMalaysiaPhilippinesSingaporeTaiwanThailandGeneral Asia ForumVietnam Caribbean Forums----------------General Caribbean Forum Europe Forums----------------Czech RepublicFranceGermanyGreeceItalyMacedonia and the BalkansPolandRomaniaRussia & C.I.S.SpainTurkeyUkraineUnited KingdomGeneral Europe Forum Latin America Forums----------------ArgentinaBrazilChileColombiaCosta RicaMexicoMexico (off-topic)PeruGeneral Latin America Forum The Middle East Forums----------------BahrainEgyptIsraelKuwaitOmanQatarSaudi ArabiaUnited Arab EmiratesGeneral Middle East Forum North America Forums----------------General North America Forum Oceania----------------Australia/New Zealand You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. Contact Dave's ESL Cafe Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved. Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group Teaching Jobs in China


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Beal Named Kia Rookie of Month
January 2, 2012
NEW YORK -- The Washington Wizards' Bradley Beal and the Portland Trail Blazers' Damian Lillard today were named the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month, respectively, for games played in December.
Beal lead all Eastern Conference rookies in scoring (13.4 ppg) and total assists with (41) in December. He had six games with 15-plus points during the month and made a career-high eight field goals in a 100-95 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Dec.18.
Lillard led all rookies in scoring (18.4 ppg), assists (6.3 apg) and is tied for third among NBA point guards with 16 games of 20-plus points. On Dec.13 against the San Antonio Spurs he became one of just 12 NBA players to record at least 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a game this season.
Here is a recap of the month for Beal and Lillard:
Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards
- Dec. 11 @ New Orleans: Posted 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists in a 77-70 victory over the Hornets.
- Dec. 12 @ Houston: Recorded 20 points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals in a 99-93 loss to the Rockets.
- Dec. 15 @ Miami: Tallied 19 points and three rebounds in a 102-72 loss to the Heat.
- Dec. 18 @ Atlanta: Had 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in a 100-95 loss to the Hawks.
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
- Dec. 1 @ Cleveland: Scored 24 points, established a career-high with 11 assists and added six rebounds in a 118-117 (2OT) win over the Cavaliers.
- Dec. 13 vs. San Antonio: Had a career-high 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a 98-90 win over the Spurs.
- Dec. 22 vs. Phoenix: Posted 25 points and seven assists in a 96-93 victory over the Suns.
- Dec. 26 vs. Sacramento: Tallied 17 points, set a career-high in rebounds (eight) and tied a career-high with 11 assists in a 109-91 win against the Kings.
Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month were Charlotte's Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Cleveland's Tyler Zeller, Detroit's Andre Drummond, and New Orleans' Anthony Davis.


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66 thoughts on "'Don't Get Raped' – An important message?"
I'm sorry but I disagree.
Of course, the advice given by the police is good safety advice. It's important not to get really pissed all the time so you don't know what way is up. But the issue with this campaign, as far as I'm concerned, is the way they are linking rape to drinking.
Firstly, as far as i know, there is no evidence to suggest that women are more likely to be raped when they are drunk (although i have heard stats that suggest rapists are more likely to rape when they are drunk). So therefore there isn't a big, all bells ringing link between women drinking and being a victim of rape. As i say in my post on the subject, the only link between women who are raped is the presence of a rapist.
Of course telling people not to get so drunk that they can't move is sensible. It's sensible because getting really pissed is bad for your health and you might get injured. But, considering everything we KNOW about rape, telling women not to drink in case they are 'more vulnerable' to rape doesn't make sense.
Most women are raped by people they know. Women can be raped in their homes. Women are raped in schools, in workplaces, in nightclubs, in alleys – drunk and sober. If we are going to run campaigns that tell women that they need to take responsibility in order to ensure that they are not 'vulnerable' to rape, then we are asking women to not live their lives.
And 'not living a life' is not a 'sensible precaution'. It's not the same as not leaving your mobile phone in view (it's not the same for loads of reasons but that's just one).
And that's why i believe campaigns to prevent rape need to focus on perpetrators. Rape isn't caused by women being drunk, there is nothing women can do to prevent this crime except never being in the presence of a rapist. The 'sensible precautions' advised are not sensible.
We're not the same as wallets. We're not doors left unlocked (i know you're not saying we are, but lots of people have been!). We are women, and we are being told all the time not to go out, not to walk home after dark alone, not to drink, not to wear what we want, not to flirt with men, not to live our lives because of the actions of some men who choose to rape.
These aren't sensible precautions. These are the removals of our freedoms because of the violent actions of some men.
I think a lot of people also have issues with WM's campaign on men – that says you might lose your job if you sexually assault someone. The reason people shouldn't sexually assault other people is because it's a vicious and violent and dehumanising crime.
Finally, in Amnesty's 2005 survey, 30% of people thought women who were raped when drunk bore some responsibility. That is 'what is so wrong' with this campaign. It's re-enforcing the belief that women bear responsibility to 'not be raped', and if they don't follow the rules then they are culpable.
Yes, let's tell everyone to drink more sensibly (i can recommend the alternate wine with water method – if only i followed that rule!) but linking women's drinking to rape only serves to strengthen the attitudes towards rape that restrict women's freedoms across the board.
Well, some of those advices for women are just impossible. Not everyone can afford a cab if they live far out in the suburbs. I've almost always taken the night bus, and a lot of the time that involves some walking alone in the dark. I can't expect my friends to babysit me and walk me home when they live somewhere else. Plus, what are the chances that I will get raped walking home? Pretty slim. There is a bigger risk of me getting raped visiting my ex boyfriend or just haning around outside the toilets at school. Finally, if someone wants to rape me I'm pretty much fucked drunk or sober.
Just to clarify: This article talks about the 'safe night out' campaign. It does not address the issue of rape within the home/by someone the victim knows, and does not claim to.
I'm just de-lurking here to say I really disagree with this article. I know I don't really have a right to feel let down or dissapointed as everyone is entitled to their opinion but I do feel quite sad having read this.
I think it's a valuable campaign, young women should be at least trying to take safety precautions, and it doesn't have to be at the expense of having fun. Getting drunk and not knowing the danger you might be in has led to rape (and in other cases not) but why not take precautions? What harm is it doing to your night of fun?
I would rather think a bit because there are aggressors out there than to chance it.
While I don't know about the advice of the campaign, I do agree with the gist of this article: not blaming women for rape and advising women to be careful are not mutually exclusive. I think this was an excellent read: thoughtful and considerate. Thank you.
No, rapists choosing to rape has led to rape.
I think this is a fantastic article and I'm kind of annoyed that I'm reading it as I wanted to make a post in a similar vein. But I was too slow and now I can't write the damn post without just copying this one.
In terms of 'here's an announcement telling you how to minimise the risk of being the victim of a crime' that policeman saying 'dressing like sluts' was not what causes people to get raped was shit advice. Statistics do not appear to show that women showing a little bit of extra cleavage are any more likely to get raped.
However, getting really wasted and not knowing what's going on and being alone (as has happened to me and many of my friends countless times) makes you vulnerable.
And the campaign doesn't even show a girl getting raped. It shows her passed out in the road. This has happened to people I know, they've tried to walk home and have been found sleeping in a hedge. Telling girls not to get so drunk that they fall unconscious is not really the same as victim-blaming girls who get raped.
Hear hear sianandcrookedrib!
And in other cases not. Read what I said, read the article again. It is sensible advice.
I can see where you're going with this article, but I'm afraid I agree with @sianandcrookedrib.
I think that if the police want to tackle rape, they should put out more campaigns like the recent TV one showing young men in boxes watching themselves coerce their girlfriends into sex (and perhaps consider something similar for male-on-male and female-on-male domestic and sexual violence).
If they want to reduce cases of drunk and disorderly young people, the poster campaign seen around London around the New Year was very relevant and appropriate. But a campaign that conflates heavy drinking + regret + a girl lying on the floor looking distressed and dishevelled is incredibly problematic in my opinion.
It's not the worst part of rape culture and it means well, but so does my mother when she asks that I don't dress a certain way. It's ill-informed and does little, if any, good.
I'm a bit confused. You said that:
'Getting drunk and not knowing the danger you might be in has led to rape'
And i replied that rapists choosing to rape has led to rape. You reply saying 'And in other cases not'
When has a rape ever been caused by rapists not choosing to rape? It doesn't happen by accident.
No-one is denying that safety advice, telling women and men not to get really pissed all the time isn't a good idea. My problem is that by telling women that getting drunk will make them vulnerable to rape, this campaign puts the responsibility to not get raped on women and plays into the idea – the widespread idea – that if a woman is raped when she is drunk, she is partly responsible for the rape. And it's ideas like this that lead to low convictions and prejudiced juries.
The 'this is not an invitation to rape me' campaigns in Scotland are a powerful and good example of how to focus on dissolving rape myths and putting the blame for rape where it belongs – on rapists.
None of the advice given by the police will prevent women from getting raped. Women are most likely to be raped by someone they know, in their own home. So do we tell women never to invite men into their home? No, because women's lives and freedom should not be curtailed by the threat of rape.
Women get raped in taxis. Women get raped by men who walk them home to keep them "safe". Women get raped by the police. Women get raped when we are stone cold sober.
So there's no point focusing on what women should or shouldn't do to try and avoid rape.
What we can focus on is tackling sexually violent masculinities, fighting the kind of sexism that says women exist to be sexually conquered and controlled by men, teaching kids about consent… We need to focus on the perpetrator, not the victim.
Tom – "Telling girls not to get so drunk that they fall unconscious is not really the same as victim-blaming girls who get raped."
The blurb that goes with this poster says "Did you know, if you drink excessively, you could leave yourself more vulnerable to regretful sex or even rape?". Don't be so disingenuous! And you can talk about how fantastic this article is when you're a woman who will be blamed for being raped if you have been drinking, out partying or wearing a short skirt. Linking rape to going out and drinking – as this campaign does – reinforces these harmful myths.
But the campaign would have been fine (and much less contentious) had it not brought rape into the picture.
There are plenty of things that can go wrong on a night out – getting seriously dehydrated, losing your wallet, falling under a car, just plain falling over and injuring yourself, getting lost and hypothermic – all of which and more can be avoided by drinking sensibly, knowing what you're doing and where you are, and having it in your head to call for help if something does go wrong.
So with all the things that this inarguably good advice CAN prevent, why would you even mention something it really, really can't?
Rape, i think, is a little bit like cancer. No-one knows what causes it- all we have are statistics and scientific best guesses. I eat my five-a-day because I think it will reduce the *chance* of bowel cancer in the future. When I go out I drink lightly and go home in a group because I think it will reduce the *chance* of assault. Until a definite cause (or causes) is identified, all we have is generalised, best-guess advice. I don't have a problem with this campaign.
That is so offensive! rape is nothing like cancer! Not a little bit or at all.
Cancer is a disease.
Rape is a violent crime that one person (mostly a man) commits against another. It isn't a natural hazard, it isn't something we can just avoid. It's a deliberate act, a crime that someone CHOOSES to commit.
We know what causes rape. Rapists. Rape culture. The belief that rapists will get away with it thanks, in part, to campaigns like this that blame women. The idea that women's bodies are property, are objects. The undermining of consent. And the choose the rapist makes to rape.
Jeez louise.
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Alanna – in response to your attack on Tom, I am someone who did get date-raped after drinking too much. And I think this poster gives eminently sensible advice. It doesn't mean that I was to blame for it, but it is certainly true that if I had watched my drink more closely, I would not be a rape victim now.
That doesn't mean you have to agree with me, but it should make you think twice about using "you can only have an opinion if you are female" lines, or assuming that only a man could have that point of view.
Sianandcrookedrib is right. The simple fact is that a rape only occurs when a rapist rapes. That no society in the world seems able or willing to grasp and act on this simple fact is extremely significant. All societies put the blame and the onus on the victim of the attack. She must be careful. She must be modest. Her behaviour must change. And we know that no amount of restriction of female behaviour does anything to prevent a rapist from raping. I don't suppose that any reliable rape statistics exist for the countries in which women's behaviour is most thoroughly restricted, but I would be very surprised if they weren't even worse than ours – because the more women are disempowered on the pretext of protecting them from rape, the more vulnerable we become.
Campaigns of the kind discussed above may appear to be empowering for women, but they are not. It is not empowering to have to change your behaviour to avoid being raped, to have to constantly monitor where you are, what time it is, whether it is now 'too late' to move freely. It encourages a climate of fear for women, while doing nothing to stop criminals from carrying out their crimes.
The only way to change things is to shift media and police attention away from the victims of rape and on to the rapists. Instead of endlessly focusing on what victims were wearing and how many boyfriends they've had, as if it was an interview with an aspiring actress, let's look at the rapists. Who are they? How do their brains work? What makes them think that they can force women to have sex with them? What do they do for a living? What do they look like? And in the process, lay bare the whole ugly concealed world of apparently normal blokes who are prepared to damage a woman for life just to get their end away and for whatever power trip it involves for them. This would be far more effective than issuing vague and sinister warnings aimed to curtail female behaviour and open the door for totally irrelevant questions like 'why were you on the street at 4am?'
Basically, until rapists stop raping, women will be raped, whatever we do.
I know what causes rape.
I'll take my Nobel Prize now.
Thank you so much for what you wrote, spot on, and calmed me down immensely!
It pains me to see you say if 'I had watched my drink more closely, I would not be a rape victim now' and not 'if he hadn't put something in my drink and not raped when I was made vulnerable, I would not be a rape victim now.'
It was the rapist's fault, not yours and you shouldn't be shouldering blame. You should be being nice to yourself and recovering. (I know it's easier said than done. I blamed myself after my drink was spiked too, even though I could feel indignant for other women who had suffered the same.)
Humans can't be vigilant 100% of the time. It's not natural. That's why hyper-vigilance is actually a sign of mental distress such as PTSD. It's like being on a diet, everyone relaxes occasionally for a variety of reasons, but this time the consequences are being blamed for being attacked instead of indigestion. By all means lets talk about being sensible but be aware it isn't a magic bullet.
Really sad to find this article here.
If Mercia Police want to prevent rape, this campaign seems a strange way to go about it. Given the vast majority of rapes are committed by someone the victim knows, and that actually being attacked in a dark alley is pretty rare, why are the police targeting the minority of rape victims? (http://www.rapecrisis.org.uk/commonmyths2.php)
Furthermore, the language in the poster 'regret' clearly links the consumption of alcohol to the victim's rape, suggesting blame. There is a huge difference between people not securing their house to burglary and people being raped. Namely, if someone doesn't properly secure their house to burglary, they are not going to blamed for the burglar's actions. It might affect their insurance, but in court they're not going to be told that they were 'asking for it', nor are you likely to be made an outcast by your family, friends and community for burglary
In many ways this advert is hugely damaging because it is a prevailing myth in society that 'rape only happens in dark alleyway when the woman is drunk/wearing a short skirt.' These myths serve to give people a false sense of protection 'I don't need to worry about being raped because I've not drunk too much/worn a short skirt.' However, given women are more likely to be raped in their own home, than out in the street, a poster campaign bringing awareness to this might be far more useful. A lot of rapes go unreported because the victim believes it was their fault, or because they don't believe it was 'real rape' because it happened in their own home/with someone they know.
How to look after yourself on a night out is relevant to both women and men – alcohol makes you ill, you might get mugged… Why are there no posters saying 'don't drink too much you might get mugged?' The advice given on this poster could be made relevant to both men and woman, in a way that does not perpetrate rape myths in a highly concerning and damaging way. There are ways to educate men and women on personal safety, without rape blame.
I do hear what you're saying, but I don't agree. If men didn't rape, women wouldn't have to "protect" themselves, and a woman could do all of the things police advise and still be raped. Saying it's not OK for a woman to be out at 4am is sexist. It just is. Who would ever ask a man that question?
I do agree that there are precautions it's sensible for anyone to take (being too drunk to find one's way home is never a good idea) but please don't forget that not everyone is physically able to fight back or to run away.
Finally, I'm disappointed that you conflated mental illness with being a rapist. Men who rape may or may not be mentally ill, but either way, people with mental illness experience enough stigma without phrases like "nutcase" being thrown around.
Word. While drinking can be unsafe for a variety of reasons, rape is a not one of the many potential consequences of drinking too much.
It comes down to being in the proximity of someone who made a decision to be violent, disrespectful and to commit a felony. And YES, it's scary to think that staying sober won't protect you. But thinking that not drinking will keep you safe is dangerous and can give you a false sense of security. If a rapist doesn't care if you say no, he sure as heck doesn't care what your blood-alcohol level is.
Cause of rape: it's so difficult to even ask the question "What causes rape?" What factors differentiate a man who has committed sexual assault from a man who hasn't? Are these factors psychological, cultural, both, neither? Are they even identifiable? Do they change over a lifetime, or are they permanent? When I likened rape to cancer and said no-one knows what causes rape, I was not meaning to be flippant, nor to offend. I come from a scientific background, and I feel that until the probably multiple causes of rape, as in, why one man commits this crime when another doesn't, are identified and dealt with, then I as a woman will not know how to defend myself from it. This scares the beejezus out of me. Perhaps I felt approval of this campaign because it gave me a false sense of security.
I do apologise for giving offense.
Well-meaning article and police campaign, but they both dangerously miss the point, as usual. Maybe we should all move to a part of the world where women wear burqas, never leave the house alone, never consume alcohol…oh no, wait, they still get raped as well. So actually, the only constant in the rape 'equation' is the rapist. I'm assuming West Mercia police don't have endless funds to spend on public safety campaigns…yet they waste their money on the lazy 'Big bad wolf' message that we've all read a million times before. However well-meaning the advice, that still kind of pisses me off. I don't want to see a picture of a drunk distressed girl lying on the floor – I want to see a picture of a successfully convicted rapist who is now behind bars. And I want other men to see that picture – over and over again, until they are as sick of looking at rapist mug-shots as I am sick of looking at images of crying, drunk, raped teenage girls.
All those women who got a taxi home and were consequently raped by taxi driver John Worboys are probably wishing they had walked home at 4am – they'd have been safer. Where does the fact that a taxi driver committed multiple rapes on female passengers fit into this article? Women are raped because rapists raped them; that's all.
Reminding people not to drink in excess in order to avoid passing out and ending up on the road/in hedge would be a just campaign. Men and women SHOULD avoid drinking to the point of sleeping alongside a road, cars may not see you and you could get injured, this is certainly dangerous. (As are the other potential side effects of excessive drinking…dehydration, alcohol poisoning,etc. But rape is not a consequence or side effect of drinking too much and that's where the victim-blaming comes in.)
This is not a 'avoid passing out in the street' campaign. You said it "doesn't even show a girl getting raped" as if we are leaping into an assumption, however at the bottom of the poster it CLEARLY states its a preventative warning against "regretful sex and rape" and implies the women pictured experienced this.
Don't get me started on how regretful sex and rape are not even close, its a whole 'nother problem that they lump together making a bad decision on a sex partner and a being the victim of a felony!
Teabag – "And we know that no amount of restriction of female behaviour does anything to prevent a rapist from raping."
You are absolutely right in your assumption that restriciting women does not (and cannot) lead to their increased safety and lower rates of violence against them. Take Middle Eastern societies, for example. They are, in my opinion, the perfect example in this case because in most of those countries alcohol consumption is prohibited by law and women are forced to cover up their bodies from top to toe. But surprise surprise– sexual violence against women still happens in those countries in staggering amounts, regardless.
To be honest I really fail to see how there can still be any doubts left that it's the rape culture that encourages rape, not how women dress, how much they drink, or how they behave.
The nature/nurture/whatever reasons why a rapist rapes are not actually relevant because no such reasons will excuse the rapist's actions. I'm sure it would give us all a wonderful sense of security to be able to point to a certain gene, or a certain combination of early experiences, and say, 'There! That causes rape!' Because that's so much easier, isn't it, than the knowledge that there are human beings out there who choose to rape other human beings.
When you talk about 'the causes of rape' as being these ethereal things that happened in a rapist's past, as though the rapist has no choice and is programmed, you suggest that nobody is really at fault, nobody really made a choice, and that the rapist him-or-herself is also a victim.
This, I personally find incredibly offensive. It isn't relevant what happened to a person in their childhood or what genes they got stuck with. To be an adult means to take responsibility for your problems and find ways to deal with them that don't damage others. 'Don't rape people' is such an incredibly basic part of that, and to frame it as anything other than a choice is the grossest kind of offense against what it means to be human.
I don't really want to wade in on the advert discussion as I think there are negatives and positives to it
But on the subject of self-defence and how victims are treated. My good friend was attacked in broad daylight, stone cold sober near a main road (granted main roads aren't that busy where we live but yes attacks happen anywhere, any time.) He grabbed her and pulled a knife on her. Luckily she just happens to be a black belt in karate. The guy was caught, went to court, and got off because she beat his ass. How can this happen?? If she hadn't defended herself god knows what he would have done! And now they let him free to go attack someone else!
How can we win if by defending ourselves we become the attacker??
Even IF drinking really did decrease your personal odds of getting raped it wouldn't mean it would decrease the AMOUNT of rapes occurring. And this makes this campaign from the police highly suspect. It would just deflect 'your' rape to next person that the rapist thinks is more vulnerable than you. The sort of predators that rape unconscious women (as shown in the poster) are typically looking for targets of least resistance, so its going to be the person who is least likely to put up a fight or easiest to isolate/ manipulate.
Do the police really have that much time and money to waste on a campaign that does nothing to REDUCE the number of victims? And one that perpetuates rape myths AND equates 'regretful sex' and rape as similar (no comparison!!)? What a waste from a community resources perspective.
There is NO excuse for the police to have not have worked with their local rape crisis center (or other experts in sexual violence prevention) to create a more effective campaign. Especially since they already have an agency they have worked with before and refer out to.
Rapists cause rape. Quite straightforward, can't see where you're having a problem identifying the cause.
"I want other men to see that picture – over and over again, until they are as sick of looking at rapist mug-shots as I am sick of looking at images of crying, drunk, raped teenage girls."
The kind of advice in the campaign is generally sensible, for both men and women, but as previous commenters have pointed out, women won't stop getting raped until men stop raping them. Suggesting to women that they can avoid getting raped by following some simple precautions is misleading and is focusing on the least likely rape scenario, being attacked by a stranger, when actually it's much more likely that someone will be raped by their date/friend/neighbour.
I do think that sometimes people are too quick to shout victim blaming at any suggestion that women should try to keep themselves safe. We all should, it'd be stupid not to. Women get raped in all kinds of situations though, not just drunk and alone at 4am. Instead of banging on about one situation, where a few precautionary measures *might* make a difference, wouldn't it make more sense to turn our attention to the one person who actually has the power to stop rape from happening?
How long have police officers and parents and other authority figure types been dishing out advice like this? Have the rape figures plummeted? Doesn't seem like this advice is actually working…..
I'm quite certain that at no point did Unknown mention any of these causes as something that excused or humanised the perpetrator.
I have been told not to walk alone at night, not to go home by myself, not to get too drunk, not to trust a lift from a stranger etc etc etc etc ad nauseam since I was about 8. I've got the message that society thinks I should be a good little teetotaller who never gets the night bus alone quite loud and clear, thanks.
This ad campaign is a total waste of resources, and by reinforcing rape culture tropes – rape is just sex that is "regretted", there are things you can do to "avoid" rape (other than living in an hermetically sealed box) – it actively hurts the people it purports to try and help.
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This campaign is pretty confusing – when you look at the poster it doesn't seem immediately clear to me that it is specifically talking about "regretful sex or even rape" but when you look at the website it seems the whole campaign specifically focused on rape and sexual assualt in relation to drinking alcohol.
There is also a poster which shows a man in a police cell the morning after – which I think is promosing. However, it is somewhat undermined by the video of 'A rape victims story' which has the blurb 'In this video, a rape victim has taken the brave steps to share her ordeal in a bid to encourage other women to cut down on how much they drink on a night out."
I know that, if I had been asked to be im that video, I would much rather addresses the potential raptists and talking about the effects that such an attack can have on somebody's life in order to encourage men to think about the consequences of rape on victims, rather than to 'encourage women to cut down on how much they drink'. Not that I am saying the victim is wrong to do this, if this is how she feels, I just think surely it could not be hard to find somebody who wanted to 'share their ordeal' for this other reason and the failure to include something like this on the campaign site, along with the fact that much of the advice on the site is clearly aimed at the character in the female poster rather than the character in the male poster, just completely undermines any attempt at tackling the behaviour of the potential raptist, rather than the behaviour of the victim.
While I can accept that saying do not drink to the point of oblivion and sticking with your friends is fairly sensible advice in general, I find it extremely difficult to accept that women changing their behaviour in this way would have any significant effect on the amount of rapes that are committed. And is there any woman who has not been told over and over that she should not be out alone at night? So, if nothing else, what is the point of a public body trotting out this kind of advice? I think the time and money would have been much better spent on expanding the male side of the campaign, instead of just tacking it on in an attempt to avoid criticism of being sexist.
I have to say, as much as I disagree with the campaign, I am glad to see that vagenda allows and encourages this kind of debate. This topic is far from straightforward, and I enjoyed seeing two sides of the arguement being published on the site.
"the blurb 'In this video, a rape victim has taken the brave steps to share her ordeal in a bid to encourage other women to cut down on how much they drink on a night out."
Given the obsession of some parts of the media and society with the positively unladylike amounts of booze women consume 'these days', and how it symbolises nothing less than the decline of the west ('when girls start aping men') – this makes me wonder whether the whole campaign isn't actually designed to stop women from drinking by threatening them with rape if they do. This would make much more sense of the campaign's emphasis on stranger-rape in the face of the statistics.
So very, very sad to see this article on here. I don't think I can say much more than what other commenter's already have but the equation of too much alcohol = rape is just lazy and dangerous. Rapists cause rape, not whether the woman has had a drink or not. You can not agree with this campaign or any of them like it because no matter how well-meaning the advice is women who don't drink, are black belts in karate, are never out alone at night, show not one inch of flesh, still get raped because RAPISTS still exist.
Thanks for your response, Emma. We think it's an important issue to debate
It's interesting to see how many respondents express sadness at seeing this article here. It's important to show a range of perspectives so that a debate can occur.
Both posts were written by writers who have suffered violence and both take a different slant. However, as this one departs from the feminist status quo it has garnered much more attention. The writer of this post talked about how safety advice saved her life, yet that seems to have been forgotten in the discussion. But it did, and that's important.
As a respondent up there said, advising people to be careful and victim blaming are not mutually exclusive. All the responses to this (on the blog, at least- the same can't be said for Twitter) have been thoughtful and well considered.
However, there is an aspect of 'you're doing feminism wrong' that sometimes emerges which makes us a bit uncomfortable. The response to the commenter up there who said 'I am someone who did get date-raped after drinking too much. And I think this poster gives eminently sensible advice' was 'you SHOULD be thinking this…' 'you shouldn't be thinking this'. The same can be said of the girl who took part in the campaign, and talked about the importance of staying safe. And the same can be said of the author of the article. They have all been violently attacked, and yet their opinion on the matter is seen as 'doing it wrong'.
All three of these women suffered violence, and, like anyone, are entitled to an opinion. The debate here has been very well handled, but I'm interested in what commenters think about the issue I've just raised.
Here are women, who are talking about their experiences, and yet are being told (or it is being heavily implied) that they are not drawing the 'right' conclusions from those experiences. Is it helpful to tell them that they're in the wrong? Is there a way that we can look at all the different perspectives without alienating some who may feel that their views don't toe the party line?
Just some things to think about.
Many thanks to the incredibly brave and articulate blog authors, and the Vagenda Team for bringing us two such excellent and moving articles, and a forum for considered, polite and meaningful discussion. Having read the articles and their comments, and been swayed from one extreme to the other, I thought I'd attempt to sketch out some sort of middle-ground. It's important to acknowledge, as VT does above, that all the viewpoints posted so far are very relevant.
As such, it might be that the source of our disagreements arises from something of a false dichotomy. Whilst not universally the case, it seems that many of those arguing in favour of the West Mercian Police poster are focusing on immediate, effective remedies to a specific situation – rape on nights out. They criticise, and are criticised by, the anti-WM poster camp, who are actually looking at a different 'problem-to-be-solved', the much wider nature of rape-culture, victim blaming and lazy prosecuting.
Here's the thing – neither side is wrong. It seems obvious that we should all both be attempting to minimise de facto rape chances now, As Well As tacking the fecking patriarchy and the cultural problems surrounding gender discourse that permit, ignore or even justify rape. If this is accepted, then our argument over the poster becomes not so much a 'right vs wrong' as a discussion of priorities and approaches – was the poster the most effective way to reduce sexual violence rates, and should rape-culture have been a higher-profile target than victim-prevention?
Nevertheless, there are a number of points on both sides that I'd take issue with.
Sianandcrookedrib asked early on, "Are women more likely to be raped if drunk?", to which she answered, 'No'. Whilst I fully concede that a horrible percentage of rapes do not have alcohol involved, and that alcohol inclusion does not in any way 'explain' a rape or put the onus of culpability on the drinker, it seems naive to categorically deny a link. To paint with broad brush strokes, drinking can lower our inhibitions, allowing people to be more flirtatious, more likely to meet people they're attracted to on nights out, more likely to leave clubs/bars with new people. All of these things Make Rape Easier. They do not Excuse rape in the slightest, but they surely affect the ratio of 'attempted rape:rape' – they allow victim isolation without a victim's friends, or passers-bye, seeing anything out of the ordinary or calls-to-action. If a sober man simply dragged a protesting, sober woman out of a club and around the corner, people are more likely to step in than in a situation where two drunks who've been kissing all evening leave together, the girl mumbling something unhappy as she staggers. I repeat, this does not make the rape OK by one iota – but it does show how the situation might unfold.
… So No, keeping sober is not an ironclad way to stay unraped. Neither is it an ironclad way to influence prosecution figures if the unthinkable does happen. BUT it affects your chances, surely, just as self-defence, trusted friends/chaperones, appropriately-trained staff, high policing levels, local economy and culture etc all affect your chances. And I don't see anything intrinsically wrong with WMP helping you (in however patronising a manner) minimise those chances.
One commenter argued that by Potential Victim X remaining sober and knowing self-defence, she was merely passing on her rape to Victim Y. This is certainly a sad state of affairs, but still seems positive from PVX's perspective. Moreover, if the potential rapist finds himself in a situation where all victims look 'difficult' to rape, it is quite possible that, rather than continuing to search for a victim, he will have a guilty wank and go to bed. That would be nice.
Sorry to pick on Sian, but her posts really highlight the nature of the dichotomy I'm discussing. She writes, "a lot of people also have issues with WM's campaign on men – that says you might lose your job if you sexually assault someone. The reason people shouldn't sexually assault other people is because it's a vicious and violent and dehumanising crime."
Now, I completely agree with her from a moral perspective, but that is beside the point. Do we want people to stop raping, or to know the 'right reasons' not to do it but still do it? One would imagine they already know it's a reprehensible act, given the 'power' nature everyone's been discussing. I want people to stop raping, and am happy for the police to say whatever they want to achieve that. I'm an atheist, but if they identify a religious group perpetrating gender-based crime (which is v possible) I am perfectly happy for the streets to be plastered in stuff saying "X God thinks Rape is wrong, you bastard. Stop it. " if that will reduce sexual assaults.
Although that approach is closely linked to "rape-culture", it need not go against feminist patriarchy-smashing goals. Convincing our whole society towards a more enlightened and consent-respecting position is taking/will take time. In the meanwhile, people will be sexually assaulted, and the police Exist to try to minimise that, by whatever means necessary. So I agree that it is a terrible state of affairs that women should have to consider any precautions to minimise rape chances, but they are the affairs of our society now and as such I'm much happier when my female friends and relatives take them. [Which probably makes me patronising, sorry]
Kate Griffiths wrote, "The nature/nurture/whatever reasons why a rapist rapes are not actually relevant because no such reasons will excuse the rapist's actions… It isn't relevant what happened to a person in their childhood or what genes they got stuck with. To be an adult means to take responsibility for your problems and find ways to deal with them that don't damage others." I disagree, they are absolutely relevant. There are clearly people who, for some reason, are raping. To stop them/convince them/apprehend them, we need to understand how and why. That does not mean that Any blame is shifted onto the victim; it simply means we better understand the mental and societal causation of rape, that we may better counter it. Again, this neither excuses the rapist, nor blames the victim – it simply identifies causes.
This underlines a different nuance of my 'false dichotomy' point, in that this debate seems to be discussing "blame" using wildly diverse definitions. Understanding factors that exist in rape circumstances in no way shifts blame. Everyone seems agreed that the only root 'cause' of rape is rapists. True. But that, in itself, gets us nowhere. Exploring multi-channel solutions that both provide pragmatic advice (e.g Hollaback), and attempt to tackle rape-culture (such as the Lambeth website) would seem the most balanced approach.
The commenter who said "I am someone who did get date-raped after drinking too much. And I think this poster gives eminently sensible advice" was partly blaming herself for getting raped. I don't think the response to that can be classed as "you're doing feminism wrong" – the response was more like, "no one should ever blame herself for getting raped."
Sometimes, the way women respond to what has happened to us is heavily conditioned by the dominant culture around us – a culture which says, "you're not going to go out looking like THAT, are you??" etc. I agree that it is unfair, in a discussion, to "violently attack" women who write/talk about how they were raped, and who have an opinion on what could be done against rape. (And if the twitter discussion did involve violent attacks, then that's depressing…) But it still has to be possible for us to say, "What happened to you was not your fault! Don't let anyone tell you that it was!" Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but all of our opinions are influenced by the still-patriarchal system in which we live, and we have to bring that influence to the surface and discuss it directly, rather than just saying, "okay, let's agree to differ."
I don't think that this is necessarily bad advice, but it is general advice. Most of this is common sense. I think that if the police wants to help woman they should, instead, be explaining what rape is. Due to the media, most women see rape as a stranger attacking you as you walk down a dark alley, but that isn't the case. Most women are raped by people they know, but they don't think of it as rape. Women need to understand that whether it your best friend, you boyfriend, your relative, your brother's friend, or even your husband, if they have sex with you and you are uncomfortable with it in any way and let them know that, it is rape. It doesn't matter if you are drunk or high, if you've know them since you were little or you are married to them. All that matters is that they violated you.
Drinking alcohol does make you vulnerable, but when you're out with good friends who you trust, you may be forgiven for relaxing and letting go – and getting drunk. You assume you will be safe with your friends whatever happens, because you'll all look out for each other. So when one of said friends decides to sexually assault you, in their house, when you've all gone back there from the pub, in what way could this have been prevented by not drinking? This happened to me, and I resent the idea that not drinking that night would have changed things one bit. Getting wasted among strangers is a bad idea, I agree, for all sorts of reasons, but is this campaign saying to women that they shouldn't drink when out with their mates? When a male friend offers to buy us a drink, should we say actually no, I don't trust you, you might rape me? Should we sit there sober in the pub while all our friends are drinking, vigilantly watching each man for signs that he might do something bad?
I think by all means, remind everyone, male or female, that alcohol impairs their judgement. But don't make it look like the drink is the cause of the rape or the assault.
I agree with the article, and I think that Vivid Beige made the most sensible and intelligent response. If it were possible to change potential rapists' attitudes overnight then that would be marvellous but quite obviously that isn't going to happen. So until it does – and I can only hope that it eventually will – we need to do what we can to protect ourselves individually. As the original article says, breaking down the rape culture is one thing, but self-protection is another, and the two are mutually exclusive.
It may be a fact that most women are raped by people they know, but this campaign isn't focussing on that element. This article isn't saying "You will *only* get raped by a strange man you don't know whilst walking home drunk at 4am". I think that the comment about a taxi fare never being a waste of money is an excellent one. It's only a small mention, but it's important. When I am drinking I'll freely spend a tenner on a cocktail, but when it comes to getting home, I resent paying the equivalent on a cab, and I'll stoically wait at the bus stop for 40mins. I have been assaulted on more than one occasion, flashed, touched inappropriately, and had various misogynistic and abusive comments hurled at me simply for being a lone woman at 4am. It's horrible, and I hate it, I don't think it's ok and I say as much, but does that mean it's going to stop just like that? Am I going to drink less, go home earlier, or always stay at a friend's house just to avoid this situation? No, but I might have one fewer drink and then spend the money I've saved on a taxi. Such an action won't lessen the number of rapists in the world but chances are it'll get me home safer and how is that a bad thing? How is me not getting raped negatively impacting the campaign to change the culture of rape?
FYI I say all of this as a woman who was the victim of a sexual assault which may well have become rape had I not managed to escape due to my own retaliation. I was 15 years old, sober, in broad daylight, and in the presence of a friend. None of this advice from WMP would have helped me get away, yet I stand by it as vital information. The original writer is correct in saying that we are shooting ourselves in the foot otherwise. "No, rape is wrong, therefore I will do nothing to protect myself" is insane. We can but hope that the instances of rape will lessen, consequences worsened and convictions increase, but as depressing as it may be, we don't live in Utopia and we share our world with damaged individuals: there will always be rapists, no matter how much we change the culture, just as there will always be murderers. I don't want to get stabbed on my way home either. Maybe I'm protecting myself against that possibility too?
Just to throw in there that campaign by Hampshire Constabulary & Thames Valley Police.
Why is there not more of this approach being taken?
Why are these campaigns never addressed to men?!
'do not let a good night out turn into a night of regret by assaulting someone?'. As others have pointed out here, the onus should be on the attacker. Alcohol makes you vulnerable (men or women) but it also makes you do things you would not. Many road safety campaigns focus on the issue of guilt when killing a pedestrian out of careless driving after all, not exactly particularly complicated or expensive.
I also agree that there should be more focus on rape legislation to counter the feelings of impunity which are an integral part of the prevailing rape culture.
Why are these campaigns never addressed to men?!
'do not let a good night out turn into a night of regret by assaulting someone?'. As others have pointed out here, the onus should be on the attacker. Alcohol makes you vulnerable (men or women) but it also makes you do things you would not. Many road safety campaigns focus on the issue of guilt when killing a pedestrian out of careless driving after all, not exactly particularly complicated or expensive.
I also agree that there should be more focus on rape legislation to counter the feelings of impunity which are an integral part of the prevailing rape culture.
Why are these campaigns never addressed to men?!
'do not let a good night out turn into a night of regret by assaulting someone?'. As others have pointed out here, the onus should be on the attacker. Alcohol makes you vulnerable (men or women) but it also makes you do things you would not. Many road safety campaigns focus on the issue of guilt when killing a pedestrian out of careless driving after all, not exactly particularly complicated or expensive.
I also agree that there should be more focus on rape legislation to counter the feelings of impunity which are an integral part of the prevailing rape culture.
Emma, in the article she does say that this is only one half of a campaign, the other part of which *is* addressed at men.
This was a pretty good campaign from the Home Office that actually put the onus on the perpetrator, not the victim.
I agree: also even if I do get the bus 'home' I still have to walk through a park notorious for rape and muggings.
Why shouldn't we humanise the perpetrator? They are humans. Generally angry, frustrated, often lonely humans. Of course that's not the victim's fault, but there really are a lot of factors involved and to say that it just happens because rapists are just bad people is really quite aggressively stupid.
If we really want to prevent rapes from happening then we – all of us – need to focus not on irrelevant things like how much women drink, but on what can be done to prevent men from becoming rapists.
There is one thing, and one thing only, that anyone can do which will help (not guarantee of course, but help) avoid rape: be absolutely clear with people about who you want to have sex with and whether or not you want to have sex with them at that time. That's it.
Preferably in words, because many men just don't know how to read the other signals. And preferably at some point BEFORE he makes a move, because there is a danger of 'freezing' and going along with something you don't want, but most men won't even know that's what's happening. It might be slightly socially awkward, or you might get less drinks bought for you. But hey, maybe let's just buy our own drinks.
Nothing else (how much they drink, what they wear, etc) is the victim's responsibility. Just be clear what you want and call the police if anyone makes you do anything you've said you don't want.
Firstly: it's good advice. Sure, you should be able to get as drunk and you like and it not make you vulnerable, but currently, that's unrealistic.
Secondly: to everyone saying "more promotion of the DON'T RAPE message would be better" – do you honestly think the horrible human beings who rape people are likely to listen to government promoted messages telling them not to?
"linking women's drinking to rape only serves to strengthen the attitudes towards rape that restrict women's freedoms across the board"
There was a PSA going around a while ago, in which a drunk teenage boy raped a drunk teenage girl, the implication being that it wouldn't have happened if they'd both been sober (he was too drunk to realise her lack of enthusiasm wasn't consent, she was too drunk to fight back). Both had their lives ruined. The message? "Don't binge drink, kids!"
That PSA could have carried a legitimate message about consent, and what it means, and how you can be sure that the sex you're having is consensual. It didn't. It was just "don't get drunk", with rape being used as a scare tactic, to put people off drinking.
It didn't sit quite right with me at the time, but it's only in recent years that I've worked out quite why.
Also, the 'madman jumps out from behind a tree' myth needs to stop. People need to realise that most rape isn't like that.
I am mouth-open-gaping stunned that anyone could be 'offended' by a poster that reminds people to apply common sense. People,women included, get drunk in the very hope that it will dull their senses and cloud their judgement. Drinking to the point of being drunk, is in itself, quite stupid. Entirely normal, though. Another entirely normal thing is that a well known and well documented 'type of man' (opportunist and/or predator) will see a girl on her own at night and hope she can't put up a fight fast enough- for her wallet or her body- because she's pissed. Accept one normality and the other, or employ a total lack of common sense. Don't get drunk and wander home by yourself, thereby taking an obvious risk, and ask everyone else why they're judging you. You choose to get drunk and wander home by yourself when you could have taken a cab or walked with a mate. The women who are raped by family members/neighbours/partners in school/home/wherever in broad daylight did not take the obvious risk. The poor girl walking home or getting into a strangers car did,and her crappy friends let her. Have should have sense enough not to. We should be making the 'work' of rapists as impossible as we can.
Thank you, that was beautifully written. Seriously, thank you so much.
The only thing that didn't sit with me well was this: "One of the police officers asked her, 'what was your daughter doing out on the street at 4am?' While I do not feel guilty, it is a valid question."
I'm male, but if I was with a partner/daughter/friend/mother while this was asked, I'd ask him to not ask questions that simply do NOT help catch the rapist.
A rapist raping a drunk woman should be presumed guilty, because how can anyone who's drunk be capable of giving consent?! It's even more despicable.
And can all these morons who go on about drinking please shut up for just one minute (a big ask, I realize!) and think about why rape also happens in countries where women cover up and don't drink alcohol?
After reading this article and many of the comments, I'm glad that this debate has raised lots of issues concerning victim blaming and nights out. Though I don't agree with the way some of these campaigns have been executed, I think there is advice to be taken just for general safety. I don't think I believe in the whole being drunk makes you more of a target for rapists but I know for a fact (and I don't this is a crazy new discovery) that too much alcohol clouds your judgement and if you're on your own, trying to get home, it's better to have your wits about you. As the author of the article wrote, she was attacked by someone but she was able to fight that person off but would she have been able to do that if she was pissed? I'm not victim blaming because from the anecdote, we know that she was attacked anyway but knowing self defense and not being too sloshed gave her a chance to fend off the attacker.
I think we should all strive to stamp out victim blaming and penalties should be harsher for rapists since they are the sole cause of rape. These are goals that we, as a society should prioritise.
Unfortunately, this is not the reality of it. I'm a 19 year old woman, I go to university, I go out at night. There is a danger to that, I hate that there is, we should all hate that there is. We should change that but until that change takes place, I'm going to try to the best of my capacity to not get into a vulnerable situation. This is not a prelude to victim blaming, I repeat, it is not.
I am wholeheartedly for men and women having fun nights out and being able to get home safely whilst being intoxicated but this is not the world we live in at the moment and completely berating campaigns that state that isn't going to change it.
I'm not saying that being a little more sober is going to prevent rape, no way do I believe that.
Everyone knows what a night out is, sometimes when you get drunk you make rash decisions or become clumsy. You decide to go to a place where you don't feel all that comfortable. You lose track of how much you spend. You lose your wallet. You can't find your friends.
I think the campaign would have worked better if they had just talked about safety on nights out and that's what it does. Mostly. There is, I admit not a good picture to go along with the advice. Perhaps someone having to walk back alone because they have lost their wallet when they are tired and feeling pukey or falling asleep in a hedge.
As far as victim blaming goes, this campaign is not the worst offender, it's misguided, Steubenville is on a whole other level, that should take the brunt of the vitriol.


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Nonprofit business Serengetee.com launched when a few friends got together in a college dorm room in the spring of 2012. They had the idea of supporting communities around the world by sourcing fabrics made by local artisans for t-shirts and donating five percent of profits to local causes. With no marketing budget, founders looked to social media, and specifically Hootsuite, for help with customer outreach and brand development.
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Download the case study and learn more about Serengetee's social media success story.
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Dental implants come in different shapes and sizes. Robert F. Thomure, DDS offers a variety to best meet your needs and fit in your budget.
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Alaska's northern continental shelf is the next frontier for oil, at least according to Royal Dutch Shell. The energy giant has spent more than $4 billion to obtain drilling leases there, collect seismic data, study coastlines, fortify ice-breakers and other tasks in anticipation of drilling into the Arctic seabed. But as the Washington Post reports, many Alaskan Natives increasingly worry that oil drilling will damage their culture and their ecosystem. And as the Telegraph reports, those fears aren't unfounded: Shell's 1,300-barrel oil leak off the coast of Scotland last week has raised alarms about the company's ability to safely drill in harsh marine environments.
In fact, the Gannet Alpha leak is just the latest of several problems in the North Sea for Shell: Since January, the company has endured the death of a rig worker, a series of risky gas leaks, equipment collapsing into the sea and a 15,000-hour backlog of repairs. This has made 2011 a "challenging year," according to Glen Cayley, Shell's technical director for Europe. But despite such challenges, Shell can still feel good about its prospects in the Arctic — earlier this month, the U.S. granted the company conditional approval to start drilling exploratory wells there, an apparent validation of its five-year, $4 billion investment. "There is a prize over there," says Pete Slaiby, vice president of Shell Alaska. But as the Post reports, Alaskan Native communities are worried Shell's prize will come at their expense. Inupiat people have lived and hunted along the Chukchi Sea for centuries, and they say even the noise of drilling — not to mention potential oil or gas leaks — could alter the feeding and migration patterns of marine mammals on which they rely. "Our culture revolves around the ocean," one local resident tells the Post. "The ocean is very sensitive."
Last year's BP Gulf oil spill, combined with recent problems in the North Sea, has led Shell to emphasize the safety of its proposed drilling. The company will keep a capping stack, similar to the one used for last year's BP spill, in a dry warehouse between the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. It has refurbished a ship to navigate through Arctic sea ice, and says it could reach a leak site and drill a relief well within 34 days. Boom for oil spills is also being stored in an old gravel pit near the coast, just in case. Yet while there is some local support for drilling, which proponents say could bring jobs, many Inupiat say their way of life is at stake — an especially troubling thought in such an unforgiving landscape. "Are we willing to risk our subsistence way of life?" asks the mayor of Wainright, a coastal Inupait village. "We don't have gardens to grow vegetables, or potatoes or tomatoes."
(Sources: Washington Post, London Telegraph, Associated Press)
Processed food became the norm in school cafeterias decades ago, with frozen pizzas, chicken nuggets, crinkle fries and other pre-prepared meals replacing any semblance of food cooked from scratch. But as the New York Times reports, that trend is slowly beginning to reverse, led by a group called Cook for America and dozens of innovative schools in Colorado. And not only are they serving healthier food with fewer ingredients, but they're proving they can do it affordably, too. "It shows it's not just for the elite," says the nutrition services director for Colorado's Weld County District 6.
Cook for America has worked with roughly 100 school districts so far, the Times reports, training school cooks in healthier methods and running weeklong boot camps for kitchen workers. More than half of those 100 districts are in Colorado, a state that has long led the nation with its low obesity rate and is now trying to lead a food revolution in school lunchrooms. In Greeley, Colo., schools will cook 75 percent of meals from scratch this year, and aim to raise that to 100 percent by next school year. Greeley's old, premade burritos had more than 35 ingredients, including things like potassium citrate and zinc oxide, but the new ones have just 12, one of which is real cheddar cheese. Its Italian salad dressing has also dropped from 19 to 9 ingredients, with sugar — previously its fourth ingredient — now removed entirely. And, as Cook for America co-founder Kate Adamick argues, self-preparation is often cheaper than letting mass producers do all the work for you. "The biggest myth is that it costs more money," she says.
There are certainly challenges, however, with overhauling the way schools make lunch. Some new schools have small kitchens that were only designed to reheat factory food, for example, while many older buildings have antiquated electrical wiring that can't handle modern equipment. Plus, the specter of E. coli, salmonella and other food-borne illnesses scares away some school districts. "A lot of schools are looking to prepare more items from scratch, and starting to prepare more, but there are tremendous hurdles," acknowledges a spokeswoman for the School Nutrition Association. Still, with obesity rates rising in much of the country, even many longtime cafeteria workers are buying into the trend. "We're going to teach children how to eat again," one 32-year lunchroom veteran tells the Times.
(Sources: New York Times, Cook for America)
You may want to think twice the next time you're about to walk into the den of a hibernating bear. According to a new study in the journal BMC Physiology, even a bear deep in its winter slumber knows when a human is nearby — and prepares itself in case it needs to attack. By monitoring the heart rates of wild American black bears as they hibernated, the study's authors found that the animals' heart rates increased when someone approached, even if the intruder was silent and the bear seemed to be fast asleep.
The study aimed to better understand the physiological changes that take place while a bear hibernates, but it also accidentally revealed how aware they remain despite appearing to be oblivious. The researchers say they made every effort not to disturb the bears with loud noises, yet their heart rates still spiked, presumably in preparation for a sudden attack. "When we retrieved our data, even though we tried to be as quiet as possible, the bears' heart rates increased before we reached the entrance to their winter den and remained elevated for a number of days," lead author Timothy Laske tells the London Independent. "This confirms that despite apparent deep sleep, bears are always alert to danger and ready to act. ... Black bears often make their way into suburban areas, which can be dangerous and stressful for both bears and humans. Understanding the silent effect of humans and the environment on bears will also allow better bear management."
American black bears are one of the largest animals that hibernate, spending half the year in this sleepy state without getting up for food or water. Heart monitors inserted into 15 wild bears provided the researchers with daily cardiac data throughout the year, showing a summertime heart rate of 200 beats per minute that leaps to around 250 beats when human hunters are nearby. It may drop as low as 14 beats per minute during hibernation, but bears can still awaken quickly and defend themselves if needed — a critical adaptation, the researchers say, since large animals like bears can't easily hide from predators by burrowing underground.
(Source: London Independent)
Most meteorologists make a living trying to predict the future. But as the New York Times reports, a special subset of forecasters have carved out a niche by reconstructing the past instead. These "forensic meteorologists" are called into courtrooms to offer scientific insight on a variety of weather-related claims, testifying on issues like rainfall-inundated drainage systems, snow-collapsed roofs and the plausibility of a murder suspect's snowboarding alibi. And with climate change expected to fuel wilder, more dangerous weather in coming years, they may see business start to boom even more than it already is.
Forensic meteorologists' testimony is often considered as rock-solid as other types of scientific evidence, such as DNA and fingerprints, so they must be careful not to let any subjectivity creep into their assessments, the Times points out. AccuWeather senior forensic meteorologist Stephen Wistar tells the Times he has mainly contributed to civil cases, although he has testified in some criminal cases, too. In two recent cases, he was called to testify about whether snowfall that crushed roofs was normal or above-average. He concluded the snow was typical in one case, but more than usual in the other. "Our job is to determine how much the snowpack weighed at the time of collapse," Wistar says. "If there's such an extreme amount of snow, it may just be that no one expects a building to be designed to handle that." In another case, weather expert Howard Altschule was called to assess a murder suspect's claim that he received a cut from snowboarding, not during a killing. The prosecutors had planned to just rely on weather reports, but Altschule went a step further, using radar maps to not only show a lack of snow, but to show that light rain would have melted any pre-existing snow. "It was the right proof to put in front of the jury," the district attorney says.
Severe weather like hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires and floods often cause extensive property damage, so experts like Wistar and Altschule may see rising demand as global warming creates wilder weather — thanks to increased moisture in the atmosphere from an increasingly warm climate. And just like DNA or fingerprints, Wistar says forensic meteorologists' job is simply to translate the evidence they're trained to understand. "Wherever the data takes us, we just tell the truth," he says.
(Source: New York Times)
Mining group defends mountaintop removal, report warns of "devastated" coral reefs, and more.
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Photo (oil-drilling rig in Alaska's Beaufort Sea): U.S. Department of the Interior
Photo (healthful foods at a school lunch line): U.S. Department of Agriculture
Photo (adult American black bear): U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Photo (thunderstorm over Warsaw, Poland): Dariusz Wierzbicki/Wikimedia Commons


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Air Quality Indexes (AQI) are numbers used by government agencies to help characterize the quality of air in different locations. I'm sure you have heard on your local news numerous times what the air quality will be for the day. When the AQI increases, you usually see or hear of people experiencing an increase of severe adverse health effects.
It's hard to believe that outdoor air quality is better than what we are breathing in our homes (indoor air quality), but unfortunately it's true. During the winter months, we stay closed up in our air tight homes and the indoor allergens and pollutants are at their peak. Don't panic! Here are some indoor air quality solutions for improving your home air quality.
Clean Regularly
I know and totally understand that it's easy to put off the chore of cleaning. However, it is important to clean regularly to reduce the allergens and irritants. Dust with a damp cloth, as it grabs the dust much better than a feather duster. Don't forget the ceiling fan blades and the tops of your appliances. Use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter and avoid using cleaning products with harmful vapors.
Pet Care
Bathing and grooming regularly will help keep fur and dander under control. Don't forget to wash the bedding frequently in hot water.
Circulate The Air
During the winter months, we aren't able to open the windows to let fresh air circulate throughout the house. Turn on your ceiling fans to help move the air around. Turn on the exhaust fan to keep vapors, grease, and smoke from lingering.
Air Filters
Replacing your heating/cooling system's air filter on a regular basis helps to minimize contaminants in the air, and helps to reduce stress on your system.
Minimize Moisture
Keepings the humidity level below 50% will help with mold and mildew buildup. If you don't own a dehumidifier, you might consider purchasing one. FiltersFast.com (www.filtersfast.com) offers a good variety of dehumidifiers at great prices!
Burning fireplaces or the wonderful scent of a candle gives a home a warm and cozy feeling. The down side is that they can release pollutants that worsen the air quality and even trigger health problems. The best candle to use is non-toxic unscented soy. Consider natural alternatives such as diffusers and vaporizers that use pure essential oils instead of chemicals. Use cured or dry wood in your fireplace and remember to have it cleaned regularly.
Air Purifier
If you are thinking that you need an air purifier in your home, be sure to select one that is appropriate for your room sizes and the level of purification required. Models range from small to house-wide systems.
By following these suggestions, you can feel confident that you and your family are breathing healthier air in your home. Don't forget to visit www.filtersfast.com for all of your air filtration needs!


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Danville's Piedmont Mall to get new name, renovations
The owners of Piedmont Mall are not only giving it a new name. They're also planning what they call major renovations.
Hull Story Gibson Companies, LLC announced Tuesday that the new name for Danville's only enclosed mall will be Piedmont Mall.
Renovations are scheduled to begin sometime this week and be completed by the fall. The mall will remain open for its normal hours during renovations.
Renovations include new carpeting, escalators, lighting and landscaping, as well as removal of wood paneling and improvement to entryways.
The new name will be debuted during renovations, and all signs will be replaced to reflect the new name.
The mall spans more than 731,000 square feet, but many storefronts have sat vacant for years. Hull Story Gibson bought the mall in March 2012 after its previous owner filed for bankruptcy.


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ESPN3 is one of the WWL's best offerings, from its multi-screen coverage of tennis events to its always reliable Sri Lankan cricket broadcasts. This time of year the online channel is full of live pro day coverage, and yesterday found ESPN's Tom Hart and Andre Ware in Baton Rouge for LSU's exhibition of talent.
Also on exhibition, thanks to some light-colored spandex shorts, was LSU wide receiver Russell Shepard. The display might have been a bit much, and one bystander asked before Shepard's 40-yard dash attempt if "he can run with a snake in there." (He could, to the tune of a 4.51.)
h/t to Tom