(Content Warning: Discussion of Rape and Rape Culture)

I will go ahead and apologize upfront for the lack of transcripts. This relies a lot on audio. So I’m sorry for that. Unfortunately, Jay does not provide transcripts. If anyone’s up for it, please do! I’ll see if I have time to do one myself, at least for clip I link here below. Also, this won’t be long (in part because I thought I had a day off, but I’ve been called into work, so). I just really want to highlight this.

Here’s the episode’s blog post. Included in that link are individual links to the different clips (and music) used.

The entire podcast is, of course, about rape culture. It’s a very sobering look at where we are today in terms of how we treat women, and how we treat those who are victims of rape and sexual assault. Ignore the comments (as always), as there’s one asshole in there who, as usual, refuses to get it (reads like an MRA, frankly), but the episode itself is really good, if really angering.

I specifically want to highlight the activism opportunity. It’s a Hike for Healing event, to support the Monument Quilt.

I highly recommend supporting the quilt, and if you can find a Hike for Healing event in your area, and are able to hike, please do! You should also check out the Twitter hashtag #WhyWomenDontReport, although, of course, trigger warning for discussion of rape on that hashtag.

There are also links to educate yourself further.

To be fair, I’m pretty sure most of my readers are already well versed in rape culture. It’s not a myth or hypothesis, but a fact proven basically every day. Look at the way we treat rape victims of all genders; blaming women, laughing at men, scapegoating trans women and men, and doing everything in our power to coddle and excuse rapists (see Brock Turner for just one example of this common fact). And it goes deeper than that, too. When a boy teases and/or hurts a girl or ignores her stated “no!”, we say things like “aww… isn’t that cute? He likes her!” instead of enforcing her “no” and/or admonishing him for hurting her. This is where it starts, where boys learn that they are entitled to violate boundaries.

And then, when women point this out, the classic response is #NotAllMen. Well of course not. But the reality is, pretty much all women experience it. Not all women are raped, but all women experience harassment, far too many experience assault, and it’s way past time to acknowledge that even one woman experiencing any of it is one too many.

I learned a long time ago to shut up and listen, and I’ve heard and seen enough to know they’re telling the truth. Hell, you can find examples anywhere you look.

Rape culture is real. Every day proves it.

And shit needs to be done to change it. Victims need to be taken seriously, and we need to stop coddling rapists. Brock Turner should be in prison. Donald Trump should, at the very least, be a nobody, and hopefully he won’t be president.

And that’s all the time I have. This BotL is great if you can listen to it. If I can get transcripts going, I will certainly try.