"[20% of women report they had been sexually assaulted] before they came into the military. So they come in from a society where this occurs. Some of it is the hookup mentality of junior high even and high school students now, which my children can tell you about from watching their friends and being frustrated by it."—General Mark A. Welsh III, the Air Force's top commander, during his Tuesday testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on the issue of sexual violence in the US military.
There's a lot I find interesting about this quote, especially the many ways the General finds to distance the military from rape culture (and even the larger society itself) in so few words. His implication appears to be that female victims of sexual violence are bringing the rape culture into the military with them, as if it wouldn't be there were it not for loose-moraled women (not like HIS kids!) who make the bad choice to get themselves raped.
The rhetorical pretzels into which men will twist themselves to avoid having to task male rapists with the responsibility for rape never ceases to fucking
Shakesville is run as a safe space. First-time commenters: Please read Shakesville's Commenting Policy and Feminism 101 Section before commenting. We also do lots of in-thread moderation, so we ask that everyone read the entirety of any thread before commenting, to ensure compliance with any in-thread moderation. Thank you.
blog comments powered by Disqus