Thousands are outraged over the death of a 23 year old medical student after being publicly beaten and gang-raped on a bus in New Dehli, India. Jyoti Singh Pandey died trying to protect herself, exposing the perils of what it means to be a women in India.
Meanwhile at home, a small town in Ohio has gained the nation’s attention over an unfolding story of social media and rape. This small town became the target of the national spotlight after this 13 minute video (featuring athletes light-heartily joking about the rape of an unconscious girl) became viral. In addition to the video, several incriminating tweets and photos have also been released.
Combined, these two stories have brought rape to the forefront of current issues being discussed. Yet when politicians like Todd Akin are still questioning what is “legitimate rape” when discussing abortion, it honestly was no surprise to me that these two incidences occurred. By and large, we still live in a culture where women are considered second class citizens, particularly in our younger college-aged populations. Walk into any frat party and you are bound to see tons of young men abiding by the ridiculous ideology that women are merely objects by sporting one of these t-shirts or using the “date rape” drug.
The stories of the women in Ohio and India may come as startling to many, but considering a sexual assault occurs every 2 minutes in America, they are mere caricatures of a problem that’s been present for centuries.
wholegrainswithbrain.wordpress.com 