Rape/Culture

Ah my university days... I spent hours reading in my little dorm room, wandering my adoptive city (Liverpool) and dancing all night to music I couldn't stand (The Killers were at their height). Oh, and, of course, being felt up by men in clubs. Having my bum squeezed at the bar, a creeping hand slide around my waist, or my chest brushed as I walked to the toilet was, for me, as much of a university experience as hangovers and Hollyoaks. In fact, age has nothing to do with it - it was happening when I was 16, and even now in my 30s I've been grabbed on a night out. The most recent time was out with my husband, even though he had his arm around me. (Secretly I was quite pleased about that one, because I am always trying to explain to him how common this creepy behaviour is, and it made me feel weirdly justified.) Basically anytime I've been somewhere dark, with music playing, drinks flowing and strangers around, my body has been quite literally up for grabs. I mean - w

Examining Henry Cavill's interview comments about #metoo harassment (plus his recent apology) and exploring the male viewpoint on sexual violence (much against my natural instinct...) I'd like to introduce you to Knee-jerk Lizzy. You might have met her at a party, prosecco in hand, making sweeping statements about boycotting films after #metoo. She has what I've now accepted as permanent incredulity lines etched into her forehead from reading about #notallmen, and told her mum, without even pausing to think, that artist Eric Gill's museum should be burnt to the ground for the abuse his daughters suffered. [NB for an interesting look at how the museum is tackling this issue, read this Rachel Cooke Guardian article] Knee-jerk Lizzy is fun to be, if not always fun to be around. And she definitely had many views in light of Henry Cavill's GQ comments, albeit not particularly thought out, or nuanced. Here's a reminder of what Superman had to say. [In t

I've finally received my pre-ordered DVD of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which I've been desperate to see since I missed it at the cinemas. It sounds perverse, but I was so excited to see a film about rape, especially from an older female's perspective, nominated for so many awards and generally raising awareness of a difficult subject. It definitely fits my strange little wheelhouse of niche interests (Peanuts; people who identify as Ravenclaw; sexual violence in the media; cats). In a nutshell the film is about Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand), a fearsome tiger of a woman left devastated by the rape and murder of her teenage daughter Angela. Seven months after the crime, no one has been arrested and, tired of waiting for justice, Mildred rents three billboards. On them she writes: 'Raped while dying/ And still no arrests? / How come, Chief Willoughby?' The idea of course being to rattle the local police into action. The film focuses on her in

It started with Johnny Depp. I wanted to see the new Murder on the Orient Express, but I just couldn't bear to send the message that his (settled out of court) violence towards ex-wife Amber Heard was ok; nor for a single penny of my money to support him or his employees. Next was Casey Affleck - horrified by his Oscar win despite accusations of sexual harassment, I vowed to never watch a single one of his films, or his brother Ben's (accused - and apologised on Twitter - for groping a woman.) What a lovely family. Then came some tough ones. I was devastated to cut short Louie (Louis CK's sitcom), Master of None ( Aziz Ansari ) and House of Cards (Kevin Spacey). My existing boycotts are about to get harder. Having not realised Johnny Depp was in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them I actually scored myself a ticket to the premiere in London (a fab night for a Harry Potter nerd) but was gutted to discover he's going to be a major role in the second film. I j

Ah, another day, another high profile Hollywood 'god' getting called out for BS behaviour towards women. This time it's beloved penguin-explainer Morgan Freeman, who has played actual God in films at least once. As it currently stands, eight women have come forward to Chloe Melas of CNN (who had started her investigation after inappropriate comments were made to her by Freeman) to accuse Freeman of 'inappropriate behaviour' including harassment. A production assistant has documented months of harassment, including inappropriate touching, comments and - ew ew ew - asking her if she was wearing underwear and trying to lift her skirt. A further eight people came forward to support these claims, saying they had witness this alleged conduct. Admittedly many people approached by the channel said there had been no problems working with him, but I find this quote from CNN Entertainment rather telling: 'Several other times during this investigation, when a CNN

It's time to kill some ridiculous rape myths! When you write about rape and sexual violence, or work with survivors, or even just exist in the world with other people and newspapers and Piers Morgan, you're likely to encounter rape myths. The word myth makes me think of minotaurs and cyclops, and in a way rape myths are similar. They are gross, the pop up without warning while you're trying to do your thing, and they need a fucking axe to the head. (Apologies to any minotaur fans, it's been a while since I took a classics class) You might not think you're familiar with any, but they often come dressed as facts or - even worse - as kindly advice to women. Again, axe. [Note: I know that rape isn't by any stretch of the imagination a crime against women alone, and that it can be just as devastating for male survivors. However, this blog will mostly be talking about sexual violence in relation to women, because I'm trying to untangle the problems of po