Film Corner!

What—did you think I wasn't going to do a Film Corner! about the upcoming summer box office smash and renowned preposition hog Rise of the Planet of the Apes, starring Professor James Franco? You're so weird.

SCIENCE! People in hazmat suits handling Important Tubes in sterile environments. In voiceover, Professor James Franco, CEO of ScienceCorp says, "We're talking about huge potential for millions of people!" Cut to ScienceCorp HQ, where Professor James Franco explains that the potion in the Important Tubes is called The Cure (no relation) and it "enables the brain to cure itself." Of WHAT?! He doesn't say. I bet The Cure enables the brain to cure itself of the need for sleep.

David Oyelowo tells Professor James Franco to start testing The Cure on chimpanzees. A baby monkey arrives in a box. (Note: It is a baby chimpanzee. Chimpanzees are not monkeys, they are apes, but I am going to be calling them monkeys throughout this post, much to the chagrin of pedants everywhere, because monkeys is both a funnier word than chimpanzee and easier to type. If it makes you feel any better, pedants, they aren't real chimpanzees, anyway. They're CGI monkeys.) His name is Caesar, no doy, because he's going to be a monkey emperor and shit.

Caesar is growing up. He's very smart! Looks like The Cure enables monkey brains to cure themselves of their monkosity, because Caesar is totes humany. I also notice that Caesar the CGI Monkey looks very much like Gollum with monkey fur, and I make a funny joke inside my head that Andy Serkis is playing Caesar. Then I look at the IMDb listing and see that Andy Serkis is playing Caesar. :( "You are very good at playing CGI humanoids!"—Hollywood (cc. New Zealand). Is that what actors want to hear? That's definitely what actors want to hear. Right? I hope that is what actors want to hear, because Andy Serkis is a very fine actor, and it would make me sad if he is not flattered by being given lots of work as a CGI humanoid.

"What was that? I can't hear you over the jets in my 24-carat hot tub filled with rubies and champagne!"—Andy Serkis. Good point, Andy Serkis.

Anyway!

Freida Pinto wonders where Caesar fits in. (Ladies are so nurtury and empathetic!) David Oyelowo says, "Caesar fits in REAL NICE in this cage I got right here!" (I'm paraphrasing.) Professor James Franco has angst. Someone should cast that guy as James Dean. Caesar is, care of the thespian talentry of Andy Serkis, angry about being locked up, and, as one would expect a monkey who's "smarter than his human counterpart" to do, picks the shit out of a lock on his cage. Probably looking for beer, he finds a mini-fridge full of The Cure. He gives it to all the other prisoners in monkey jail.

"They are contaminated!" says David Oyelowo. "Put those apes down!" Professor James Franco is having none of that shit. He doesn't actually say, "If by contaminated, you mean AWESOME, then, yeah, THEY ARE!" but I can tell he's thinking it.

Uh-oh. Monkeys everywhere. They're ruining everything! It's a monkey war! HOLY SHIT!!!

"Evolution Becomes Revolution" says some text, even though evolution has fuck-all to do with this movie. Possibly that is just a ploy to ensure prominent placement in the Creation Museum.

Ahh! More monkey war! Your guns and helicopters are no match for smart monkeys! (What?)

Coming August 5 to a theater near your ass.

[Via Andy.]

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Daily Dose of Cute

Sometimes, I say to Iain, "We should adopt another dog, so Dudley has a puppeh playmate." To which he says, "No way. That's too many legs in this house! There's a 20-leg maximum!" At which point I respond by pointing out that, irrespective of there being an entire house in which the cats and dog can hang out, they're always in the same room we are. We could live in a refrigerator box, and they'd be perfectly happy.

Right now, Dudley is lying on the floor beside me, Olivia is sprawled across the top of my desk, Sophie is draped across the top of the monitor, and Matilda is on a chair next to me. If I get up to take a piss, they will all follow me into the tiniest bathroom imaginable, and then follow me back to the office once I'm done.

And this is the scene in our living room on a typical night:

Big Couch


Little Couch
As you can see, the kitteh girls kindly left two seats open, so Iain and I would feel welcome to join them. I rest my case.

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Quote of the Day

"I do not believe the Republican Party should focus only on our economic life, to the neglect of our human life."—GOP presidential contender Jon Huntsman, speaking today in DC at Ralph Reed's Faith and Freedom Conference, aka Another Iteration of Annual Fuckery by the American Family Values Children Christian Liberty Freedom Patriot Association Foundation Organization.

lol your assertion that the Republican Party cares about economics anymore. Or anything other than criminalizing abortion.

"I do not believe the Republican Party should focus only on eroding women's rights, to the neglect of EVERYTHING ELSE."—Me.

As governor of Utah, I supported and signed every pro-life [sic] bill that came to my desk. I signed the bill that made second trimester abortions illegal and increased the penalty for doing so. I signed the bill to allow women to know about the pain that abortion causes an unborn child [sic]. I signed the bill requiring parental permission for an abortion. I signed the bill that would trigger a ban on abortions in Utah if Roe vs. Wade were overturned.

You see, I do not believe the Republican Party should focus only on our economic life, to the neglect of our human life. That is a trade we should not make. If Republicans ignore life, the deficit we will face is one that is much more destructive. It will be a deficit of the heart and of the soul.

[Via.]

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An Observation

It is long past time for a national prime-time address by our ostensibly pro-choice Democratic president about the Republican all-out assault on reproductive rights across this country.

More than half the population is directly affected by the GOP's erosion of abortion rights. Needless to say, even people who cannot personally give birth are affected by the whims of the anti-choice brigade, too. This is a national issue.

If anti-choice legislation in all 50 states as well as the federal Congress doesn't warrant a Democratic president's attention, doesn't move him to address this full-tilt attack on every American's ability to control hir reproduction, which we consider one of the most fundamental rights of the modern world, doesn't cause within his gut a burning need to passionately defend every Uterine-American's access to basic medical care, including what is frequently a life-saving procedure, I can't imagine what will.

Speak up, Mr. President.

SPEAK THE FUCK UP.

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Third Verse, Even Worse than the First

Not to be outdone by the rest of America, earlier this week the Louisiana House Health and Welfare Committee approved (by a 10-2 margin!) a bill that would ban all abortion, fullstop.

It gets worse. Remember Personhood USA? The legislation adopts their position that human life begins at fertilization, which raises all kinds of terrifying questions.

Under the proposed law, the state could sentence doctors who perform an abortion to fifteen years in prison.

As is the case with Indiana, if the bill becomes Louisiana law, it would do so it violation of federal law. While it's not clear what the federal government's response would be, it could put Louisiana's Medicaid funding at risk. Of course, given some prominent Republicans' views on Medicaid, I don't think it's a stretch to say that some conservatives are unconcerned, if not enthusiastic, about destroying Medicaid in their state.

This legislation in Louisiana, coupled with events in Indiana, is a key moment for reproductive rights in the United States. The Obama administration absolutely needs to respond with the full force of the federal government.

Indiana has denied women access to health care in direct violation of federal law. Louisiana is attempting to follow the Hoosier state's lead. Denying government funding to those who hate government is not a solution. It is long past time for the White House to take action to uphold the law of this nation.

Instead, I hear crickets.

H/t: Queen Emily

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Friday Blogaround

This blogaround brought to you by Shaxco, proud publisher of the upcoming coffee table book, Deeky W. Gashlycrumb's 10,000 Pictures of My Butt.

Recommended Reading:

Andy: Same-Sex Couples Have 33 Civil Unions in Mass Chicago Event

crunktastic: [TW for rape/violence] "Man Down": On Rihanna, Rape, and Violence

Allan: [TW for sexual harassment] Rep. Anthony Weiner Was Shining a Light on Justice Clarence Thomas' Ethical Problems When He Was Suddenly Accused of Sexual Harassment

Tami: Stop Saying "X Is the Last Acceptable Form of Bigotry"

Peter: When Republicans Are Elected, Women Pay the Price

Jeff: Polls Show Huge Public Support for Gay and Transgender Workplace Protections

Robin: [TW for sexual violence] What Can You Say About a "Conceived in Rape" Tour?

STFU Celebs: [TW for sexual violence; rape jokes] Donald Glover Thinks Rape Is Hilarious

John: 10,000-Brick Lego Sandcrawler

Leave your links and recommendations in comments...

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Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime

Coté de Pablo: "Temptation"

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Edwards Indicted

Former Democratic presidential contender John Edwards has been indicted on charges that he used campaign contributions to cover up an affair: "Edwards, 57, was charged with conspiracy, illegal campaign contributions and making false statements, according to a 19-page indictment. Ahead of the expected indictment, his attorney denied any wrongdoing. An arrest warrant has been issued for Edwards according to court records filed in District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina."

You know, I'm angry at Edwards for a lot of things, but none so much as the fact that he was the most prominent credible commentator about the increasing divide between the poor and the wealthy in this country. He could have been the guy to eventually lead us out of this economic quagmire with compassionate rhetoric about a divided nation and progressive economic policies, and he pissed it all away.

We needed someone like you, John Edwards. We still do.

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Obviously

Dudley is pro-choice, no doy.
He is, as it turns out, one of many dogs who are pro-choice (and a few cats, too), because dogs (and cats) know what's up.

Dudz also wanted me to pass on that he feels like greyhounds, along with dogs used for breeding in puppy mills or used for dog fighting, have a special role to play in the pro-choice movement, because they really understand the difference between a life in which you're forced to use your body in ways you wouldn't choose and a life in which you aren't.

"I've heard all those anti-choice people say that bodies with uteri are 'designed to have babies,' so that's what they should do," Dudley told me. "Okay, sure. Just like greyhounds' bodies are 'designed to run'—but there's a difference between being made to run and choosing to run. And, as far as I can tell, giving people reproductive choices is the same as being able to run, if and when I want to, just for the joy of it. Which is way better."


[Video Description: Scenes of Dudley running around the dog park, set to "Gonna Fly Now."]

Dogs4Choice.

(FYI: Dudz totes got SO many peanut butter treats for posing so nicely for such a good cause.)

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Number of the Day

4%: The real private-sector wage growth over the past decade, which falls "far short of any 10-year period since World War II, according to Commerce Department data. In fact, if the data are to be believed, economywide wage gains have even lagged those in the decade of the Great Depression (adjusted for deflation)."

Two years into the recovery, and 10 years after the nation fell into a post-dot-com bubble recession, this legacy of near-stagnant wages has helped ground the economy despite unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus — and even an impressive bull market.

Over the past decade, real private-sector wage growth has scraped bottom at 4%, just below the 5% increase from 1929 to 1939, government data show.

To put that in perspective, since the Great Depression, 10-year gains in real private wages had always exceeded 25% with one exception: the period ended in 1982-83, when the jobless rate spiked above 10% and wage gains briefly decelerated to 16%.

...The long dry spell for real wage gains tests the natural resilience of America's consumer economy.

To say the least.

There's a lot of blaming and shaming of USians for frivolous spending and living beyond their means and being recklessly avaristic consumers—and, you know, I'm sure there are people like that, but I sure don't know a hell of a lot of them. (Or any of them.) I know of a lot of people who get accused of being irresponsible when they lose their homes because of unemployment, or medical bills, or predatory lending, or some combination thereof.

And all of that finger-pointing masks the reality reflected in the above numbers: The average standard and cost of living in the US have changed dramatically over the course of a single generation.

I now live in the same town in which I grew up, on the other end of the same street on which I grew up, in a smaller house than the one in which I grew up, and in which my parents still live at the other end of the street. My dad was a public high school teacher, and, until I was 18, my parents, sister, and I (and a menagerie of cats, dogs, turtles, and birds) lived on his salary—and, although I never had expensive clothes and my parents never had the best cars or the nicest electronics, we did all right, and my parents managed to save money for retirement to boot. Iain and I have no kids, share one car, have no savings, and two full-time salaries.

There is simply no way we could have the same life that I had growing up in the same place 30 years ago.

That's the reality of wage stagnation in the US.

And it's the result of greed, but not on the employee side of the paycheck.

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Open Thread

"I'm afraid I have to expel a rather ferocious hairball. You're on your own, girl."

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Question of the Day

If you were offered a biebillion dollars* to change your name to the name of a Very Famous Person—someone who, if not virtually a global household name, is at least super-famous where you live—and you couldn't ever tell anyone why you'd changed your name and couldn't ever change it again, whom would you choose and why?

For a biebillion dollars, I would become Rip Taylor, effective immediately, no doy.

---------------------------

* Or whatever sum of money would make this hypothetical worth your while. To be used in any way you see fit.

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Route 2012

Willard makes it official. Palin steps on his toes. Pawlenty and Bachmann, despite spin to the contrary, are not BFFs, are not glad they met in English class, and do not wish each other tons of fun over the summer. Huntsman's getting the side eye from George Will. Herman Cain who? Gingrich is finished, or maybe not, yawn. Other people doing things. Fart.

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Seen

[Trigger warning for sexual violence and ableism.]


From the "Great Reads: New in Paperback" section of People magazine: "STILL MISSING by Chevy Stevens: A young Realtor tries to reclaim her life after a crazed rapist holds her captive. Just enough chills to start your summer off right."

Do I need to explain what's wrong with this? Please tell me I don't need to explain what's wrong with this.

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Indiana Farts in the Government's General Direction

So you recall that Indiana decided to defund Planned Parenthood by violating the rules of Medicaid? The government was all "Uhm, no." in response. Well, Indiana responds by telling the gov't to take its no and shove it:

Indiana officials said Thursday they will defy a federal order to continue funding Planned Parenthood and other clinics that offer abortion services.

Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels signed a law in May that would cut off federal funding from Indiana clinics that perform abortions. The law is primarily aimed at the state’s Planned Parenthood clinics, which get federal family planning grants to administer services unrelated to abortion.

[...]

"The way the law was written, it went into effect the moment the governor signed it," Marcus Barlow, a spokesman for Indiana's Family and Social Services Administration, said in a telephone interview.

"We were just advised by our lawyers that we should continue to enforce Indiana law."

I see.

There is a hearing scheduled for next Monday (Planned Parenthood sued) before U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt. Judge Walton Pratt has stated she will rule on the issue by July 1st.

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Quote of the Day

[Trigger warning for sexism; gender essentialism.]

"I feel more emotionally connected to this apple than I do to a person I've just slept with. Women reading that will think that's awful. But that's what men are made of."—Robbie Williams, Pop Singer and Professor of Manology at Science University.

As far as "men are just irrepressible sex-beasts" quotes go, this one is actually pretty tame. But that's kind of the point. It's just another casual reminder, another reductive assertion about monolithic mankind nonchalantly inserted into an interview with a grown-up boybander, that men are made of sex and indifference.

Once again, I will note that it is feminists who have the reputation as man-haters, but it isn't feminists who routinely talk about men like they're emotionless, exploitative garbage. It's Patriarchy enthusiasts like our friend Mr. Williams.

And, yeah, I can imagine a few women thinking that it's awful to say that all men use women (and/or other men?) for sex, but I know a few men who might not be thrilled with that assessment, too.

The real curiosity is why I don't know more of them.

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Daily Dose of Cute

The Imperious Ms. Matilda

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Why I'll Never Vote for That Fucking Goat by Butch Pornstache

So, I hear some of you femifarts, queerbaits, gender-benders, fat chicks, and various other dinguses are all excited about that GOP Goat running for president. Well, let me tell you something as a long-time Republican voter: Ain't no way I'm voting for that fucking goat.

I don't care if he (or SHE, ladies) promises to 86 taxes altogether, turn Social Security into the Defense Department's piggy bank, appoint Chuck Norris the Secretary of Asskicking, and make Whitesnake vinyls the national currency. I don't care if my stepmom Cheryl promises to tell me where she hid my Best of Chico and the Man videos; I don't care if my ex-wife/fiancée Tammy promises to let me wear my favorite Hooters cap to our next wedding; I don't care if my brother Buck promises to give me back my copy of Guns & Ammo with that awesome Ted Nugent (NUGE!) interview in it. I still ain't voting for that fucking goat.

Because goats are assholes, man.

I know all you animal-loving hippies are already fixing to whine about how goats are awesome and shit, but hear me out! Here is my evidence:

1. This one time, a goat ate my entire stash of weed.

2. This other time, when I took my niece Sierra to a petting zoo, I saw a goat eating another goat's poop right as it was falling out of the other goat's butt. For serious. And when I reported that nasty business to the petting zookeeper by pointing and shrieking, "GOAT EAT GOAT POOP," he was all, "Oh, yeah—they do that all the time." Hell no. And don't even get me started on how creepy their little round turd-pellets are. P.S. The gumballs at petting zoos are actually goat food.

3. Another time, I was totally minding my own business in this field of goats, and one of them goddamn goats kicked the shit out of my shin, man.

4. One time, I caught a goat trying to hump one of the pink flamingo statues in my Aunt Trudie's front yard.

5. Oh, also—a goat ate my entire stash of weed. Again. Yeah, a totally different goat, man. That shit happened to me TWICE.

6. "Goats Head Soup" by the Stones. 'Nuff said.

7. Another time, a goat stepped on my laser disc copy of Universal Solider and broke the fuck out of it.

8. I barfed after eating goat stew at an Indian restaurant. (What—you think I never eat anything besides mac and cheese with hotdogs chunks in it? Just because that's my favorite meal doesn't mean I never try anything else! I'm married not dead, or whatever.)

9. I barfed after eating chèvre. That is the last time I use anything but American cheese to make Mac-n-Dogz.

10. Baby goats are called "kids." How fucked up is that? They're trying to be humans, straight scoop. You have no idea what they're capable of if we make one of them president.

11. One time at the beach, this goat totally kicked me in the nuts.

12. I once saw this documentary about mountain goats, and those fuckers can run straight up a cliff, man. I don't trust anything with less than six legs that can run straight up a cliff. That shit ain't natural.

13. This guy.

14. A goat ate my entire stash of weed. Twice. I know I mentioned it, but it bears repeating.

15. Goats live in herds called a "gnarl." Each gnarl elects a queen to oversee all goat business. A new queen is elected exactly three days after the death of her predecessor. That is some gnarly shit, and no I am not trying to be funny.

16. Like, half of my friends, when you ask them what animal they'd choose if they could be a human-animal hybrid, pick a goat. That's fucked-up, man. I don't know what right-minded dude would choose anything but a wolf, which gives me the suspicions that goats have the power of hypnosis, apart from all their other evil.

17. They're always judging you.

Welp, that's probably enough evidence for now. But I got a lot more where that came from, if you're still not convinced that goats are assholes. If the GOP really does run that goat in 2012, it'll be the first time I'm glad all you dumbasses are voting for Al Nader or whatever.

Pornstache: Out.

[Editor's Note: Although Shakesville disagrees with the GOP Goat on virtually every plank of its party's platform and respects Butch Pornstache's personal experience, Shakesville recognizes that goats are not a monolith and is officially pro-goat, generally speaking.]

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One for the Ladies

Liss just pointed out a piece on HuffPo that asks a totally cromulent question: "What the Fuck is a Mom Cave?" (Technically, it asks "What the F*ck is a Mom Cave?", but I've never been hot on cryptoquips.)

According to credible sources USA Today and the Daily News the mom cave lives:

A mom cave is the place where the woman who nurtures everyone goes to nurture herself, said Elaine Griffin, New York City interior designer and author of "Design Rules: The Insider's Guide to Becoming Your Own Decorator." She coined the term mom cave with HomeGoods. (It's really a woman cave but mom cave sounded better, she said.)

It's a natural evolution from man caves, the saying "If mom's not happy, nobody's happy," and the idea that it's OK to have me time, she said. The next logical step was a space for the me time.

"We saw women all over the country beginning to take that space for themselves, whether it was an extra room they could actually dedicate to themselves or just a space they could carve out for themselves," she said.

"It's a space a woman can go to and say, 'All right husband and kids, when this door is closed I'm off duty.' "

It's not simply a room for doing nothing. Unlike men, women relax by doing things, so they need storage and a place to work, Griffin said.

I didn't know drinking gin was a "thing" nowadays, but sure, why not? I did, however know that all women are moms, because no doy.

This is where Courtney Cachet's brilliant critique comes in [TW: ableist langauge]:

"Here's what I really don't get. Man Caves, which I have written about a few times, are a total home decor phenomenon. Why? Because they're bad ass. Tricked out media rooms with movie screens, stereo systems, pool tables and lots of liquor and sports. Awesome, right? Mom Caves, by contrast, are not entire rooms, but "nooks" and "little spaces", "even a closet will do nicely" one article on Mom Caves stated! Also, you better like pink, damask and Rococo. Maybe we'll do crafts or think up new Bundt cake recipes in there! Then we'll pipe in some meditation music so we can "chill out" or meditate in our "sanctuary". My sanctuary? Sanctuary?? My husband would be checking me into the psych ward in a hot minute.

What I find particularly irritating is The Man Cave gets entire rooms, entire floors or basements. He gets all the cool gadgetry, and fantasy like decor. Not Woman, but The Mom gets a closet or a nook where she can paint it pink, light scented candles, read Chicken Soup For The Mom's Soul or paint her toenails pink and listen to Yanni. Call me crazy, but I think I'd rather be a dude in this scenario. Wait, what about the single ladies? No cave for you, bitches! First you have to pop out a couple of bambinos and pack on 10 lbs. Only then are you worthy of your own pillow filled room!

The whole notion of this room works much better on paper. I live in a pretty spacious house. I work from home about half the work week. I have tried countless times to hide from my kids and guess what? They always find me. Always!"

Fucking right they do. Worse yet, they don't find you and instead find sunblock to apply to their stuffed animals or an entire pile of clean clothes to dress said greasy animals.

What I find works is having my husband lesbian lover watch the kid when I'm having one of my breakdowns and need to "do things." Another option is to let nature watch our child. A couple of weeks ago I learned that she loves compost piles. My partner and I got to nurture the shit out of all kinds of plants in our garden while our daughter contently played queen of the mountain with her three-legged plastic goat (the one with the custom-made popsicle stick prosthesis).

All I'm saying is that I'm a lady who likes to drink gin and play Xbox. Sometimes this involves feeling like a failure as a parent, and sometimes this means waiting until my daughter's asleep to cull the plastic herd enough to allow me to park my butt on the couch. And during football season, I'm sorry sweetie, but the game is on. Maybe if you're good, we'll skip the Sunday night game in favor of Blue's Clues (especially if the Cowboys are playing).

Despite what this essay implies, my partner and I nurture our asses off like whoa. Yet in contrast to the implications of mom caves, part of this nurturing involves taking time to not care what other people think, even if this means doing the manly work of "doing nothing."

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This is so the worst thing you're going to read all day.

[Trigger warning for sexual violence; rape apologia; victim-blaming.]

With depressing regularity, someone writes an article suggesting that women have to be more responsible about their drinking habits in order that they might avoid getting raped. It's exasperating enough when this shit is peddled as unapologetic victim-blaming in garbage rags like the Daily Mail, but when it's concern trolling with a "feminist" label slapped on it, it positively makes my teeth grind. It's just the same old victim-blaming horseshit re-spun with empowerment rhetoric.

To wit: The Frisky's "Girl Talk: Why Being Drunk Is a Feminist Issue," by Kate Torgovnick, who totes isn't a victim-blamer, she swears! It's just that we don't live in an ideal world, so because women "do not have control over what men, drunk or sober, will do when presented with our drunkeness," women should take control over "our side of the equation—how much we drink."

There is a lot wrong with that article (not least of which is the author's confusion about what actually constitutes rape), but I'm not going to waste my time fisking garbage. I'll merely note that the entire premise is fundamentally flawed in the same ways that every other piece in this despicable genre is, in addition to the evident issue that victim-blaming, even if cynically rebranded as "taking control," inexorably shifts responsibility from rapist to victim:

1. Asserting that women can avoid rape via sobriety only makes sense if the victim is drunk in the vast majority of rapes. That is not the case.

2. Asserting that women can avoid rape via sobriety only makes sense if the vast majority of women who drink are raped as a consequence. That is not the case.

3. Asserting that women can avoid rape via sobriety only makes sense if every rape that happens to a woman who's been drinking is committed by an opportunistic rapist who would not have otherwise raped her. That is not the case.

The ultimate value of this advice to potential rape victims is thus negligible, given that, in practical terms, it boils down to: "If you don't drink, it may or may not protect you from getting raped in some situations."

Very useful. (Nope.)

Supporters of this "don't drink to empower yourself" idea roll their eyes at people like me and demand to know how I can ignore that lots of women are raped after they've been drinking. The thing is, I'm not ignoring that. I know that happens. It has happened to women (and men) I love quite a lot. I'm just not of the opinion that it's good or decent or practical advice to tell people that not drinking will help them avoid rape, when every single person I know who's been raped after drinking has imbibed on other nights and not been raped.

For what is probably the hundredth time: Left to my own devices, I never would have been raped. The rapist was really the key component to the whole thing. I was sober; hardly scantily clad, I was wearing sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt; I was at home; my sexual history was, literally, nonexistent—I was a virgin; I struggled; I said no. There have been times since when I have been walking home, alone, after a few drinks, wearing something that might have shown a bit of leg or cleavage, and I wasn't raped. The difference was not in what I was doing. The difference was the presence of a rapist.

Enough blaming the victim. Enough.

[Via Jill.]

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