Most people of our generation are used to wearing T-shirts that make a statement. From "I heart New York" to "Beer: It's not just for breakfast anymore," these types of T-shirts have become a staple of our generation. And though for the most part these phrases have been relatively harmless, they have caused their share of controversy, like when the Seattle Mariners banned "Yankees Suck" shirts from their stadium.
But a new "statement" shirt has just hit the streets of Seattle. Through her Web site, Scarleteen.com, rape victim Heather Corinna has begun to sell T-shirts that say, "I was raped." Corinna says that the point of the shirt is to "highlight the prevalence of rape and to help victims break their silence."
The main controversy over this issue is not whether it's right or wrong, but whether it is appropriate. Many people see these shirts as exploitive of women who have survived rape, while others see it as empowering and giving human faces to a problem that plagues all women, either through actual rape or the fear of it. I see it as sad that the shirt even exists.
Throughout history, women have been the victims of rape, sexual harassment and abuse. And even though we have moved past the Stone Age of knocking a woman over the head and dragging her off to her new husband's cave, we still have yet to reach that point where a woman can walk down the street, attend a party or even walk into her own house, without fear of being sexually assaulted. This has hit even closer to home with many recent sexual assaults on ASU women.
With women's increased power and respectability within the modern world, we have seen changes in the roles we play in government, the workplace and in family life. Through the sacrifices of women like Susan Anthony, Alice Paul and Gloria Steinem, we have seen our lives move from property to person. But with these new positions of power, women are still suffering through the everyday traumas of sexual oppression. Society has turned real women, who are strong, dominant, and independent, into sexual slaves who must show off their nearly perfect bodies in order to satisfy male lust.
Every day, the females at ASU must walk by magazines and newspapers with half-naked women on the cover. These women are not strong or independent, but they are controlled and submissive to the sexual needs of their male counterparts. Now, I know that most men are respectful, kind and see the women in their lives as their equal partners. And I know this because that is how all the men in my life see me.
Therefore, this is not an attack on men, but rather an attack on the institutions that promote this overly submissive sexually explicit view of women — the institutions that show women as sexual playthings that can be handled and used whenever a man sees fit, the institutions that inadvertently promote rape.
No matter how a person feels about these "I was raped" T-shirts, whether they exploit the women who have been raped, or if they, in fact, empower women and give them a voice, they highlight a problem that can no longer be seen as "just the way it is."
No woman should ever have to wear a shirt that says she was raped, because no woman should ever have to be invaded, used and discarded as if she were nothing but a physical body with no emotions, desires or intellect.
Obviously, not all men rape, but some men do. And it is time for women and men alike to stand up for their sisters, wives, daughters, mothers, aunts, friends, etc. and say they will no longer accept such treatment from their brethren. Humanity has come a long way since the Stone Age, but we still have a long way to go.
Sarah can be reached by e-mail at: sarah.maschoff@asu.edu.
