Dear members of the Miami Community,
In this paper on Tuesday, April 21, 2015, Brett Milam brought forward the argument that feminists are responsible for removing agency from women regarding their sexual experiences. We provide the following points as counter argument:
Serial rapists are real, but they are not the scary, dark figures Brett makes them out to be. They are our classmates, friends, brothers, etc. It is on us to not allow the behavior that lets them continue. It is on us to report this behavior when we see it happening.
While these serial rapists are a small percentage, we are all surrounded by rape culture. This kind of culture conveys the meaning that men are aggressively sexual, that women who accuse someone of rape are lying, and that women who want sex are sluts. We all see this culture and participate in it when we comment about a "walk of shame," implying it's shameful for women to have had sex the night before, where we call a man doing the same thing a "stride of pride."
By insisting on verbal and nonverbal consent in sexual relationships, we assure that any people having sex are doing it willingly and we disrupt the narrative that women aren't supposed to want sex and that men always have to want it.
Women should be allowed to own their sexual experiences. Feminism holds the belief that women should and can own their sexual experiences.That means that when anyone has sex, that individual should be allowed to consent to it enthusiastically and affirmatively. Rape culture tells us that when women want sex, they are sluts. When men want sex, it's considered normal; when they get sex, it's celebrated. Don't get us started on what rape culture tells us about those who don't fit into those gender categories. Brett's assertion that we are infantilizing ourselves is absurd and parrots back the ideas of men's rights activists who claim that women are responsible for their own assaults.
We challenge Brett (who has called himself a feminist in the past [on September 30, 2014, to be exact]) to join us for an F-Word meeting, Tuesday nights at 6 p.m. in the Community Room in Armstrong. Join us for a discussion of the intersectional feminism we believe in and live for.
Colleen Bunn
Sara Wenger
Lana Pochiro
Jane Medoro
Tina Fowler
Tyler Nichols
Rebecca Clark
Anna Lucia Feldmann
F-Word Executive Board