This discussion is brought up in legal courts more times than I would like to see. I am appreciative that you brought up the example of women wearing burqas to show that dressing modestly will not necessarily reduce your chances of being raped. Another example is that of raping a child. This is an extremely unfortunate and horrible event that happens in our society, and thankfully people seldom ask children “what they were wearing” when they were sexually assaulted. Recently, I saw an exhibit that I thought powerfully showcased the point I believe in being made in this blog post. It was a collection of clothes that people were wearing when they were sexually assaulted, and it ranged from children’s pajamas to hospital gowns. I thought that this did an excellent job at showing that clothes do not cause rape, only rapists can cause rapes to happen. Having someone tell a victim of sexual assault that what they were wearing might have caused them to have the worst experience of their life is incredibly invalidating, and more judges and legal professionals need training for how to deal with survivors of sexual assault.

Rape is a men’s issue just as much as it is a women’s issue– rape is a conscious choice, and it has nothing to do with how revealing someone’s clothing is. Teaching not to rape, as opposed to teaching women how not to be raped, is the only effective method of prevention. The excuse that the victim was wearing something provocative is outdated, overused and unacceptable. It also doesn’t justify the rape of children, or of men themselves. On the topic of the slut march, one of the most powerful protest signs I saw simply read, “This is what I was wearing when I was asking for it.” The woman holding the sign wore a loose-fitting T shirt and jeans, which contradicts the excuse that rape is the fault of the victim. There is no cause of rape besides rapists. Victim blaming is one of the largest parts of rape culture, used to silence and remove power from rape survivors. The fact that most rape cases go unreported is partially due to the ugliness of victim blaming and other counterparts of rape culture. Aside from teaching people not to rape, we should encourage survivors to come forward rather than shutting them down and blaming them for someone else’s crime.

Hi,
I highly believe this topic is so hard to come to conclude. There are thousands of things you can say, yet none of them justify the acts of rapist, nor state that women will ever be safe. Women aren’t the only ones who suffer from this terrible cases of rape, but majority of time women are the victims. I’m not implying that men deserve this to happen to them, because no human being does, but why add on more into women’s image? Women are constantly being criticized for every step they take, now even for a simple smile and glance? I mean what worse can it get? “I raped her because she was breathing? It sounds absurd, and that’s exactly what it is. This is putting limits to a human being being a human being, I love to look at people, smile, start a conversation, yet I have to be extra careful because it might cost me to be sexually abused. Notice how I am not even mentioning about dress code, I am talking about the most minimum thing such as a smile and glance that women are being restricted from. It is so sad, so sad to know that life is already tough, and having to deal with society like this just makes it more difficult to survive. We want good in the world, but we are only creating of each other monsters.

Just because someone is dressed provocatively, does not mean it cause rape. Men who see women who are in these types of clothes rape for many reasons. Usually because of their man hood or they think because they are men, that can do whatever they want. There are so many cases where women are raped and they are not wearing provocative clothing. They are just wearing jeans and a hoodie, and they still get raped. It’s not the provocative clothing, it’s the men who can’t control themselves and want to prove something. They want to show or gain some sort of respect for themselves by raping women. Men go to clubs and strip clubs and so on where there are women who are wearing close to no clothes and those men don’t rape them. Most of them don’t even go near them. It has nothing to do with what a woman is wearing, it has to do with the men who have no respect for women. It has to do with the men who think that are the all mighty and think they can do whatever they want because they need to boost their ego. Then there’s no help from the law, because in court they ask what the women were wearing and then blame them. They were not asking for it, they were trying to get home, not asking to get raped by a stranger. Even then, it happens with couple, and by friends because men think that because they are nice to women, they owe them something. Clothing does not cause rape.

I do not believe in any way that provocative dress ever cause rape, women are free to wear what they want and it should not be blamed women for the way they dress or ever have a man think that because they dress sexuality it means they deserve to be raped. As mentioned in the article rape happens in any form, as there are many raps sit out there that assault women for different reasons. Women are not safe either way, even if they are fully clothed it still happens. This topic means so much to me, it’s so hard to come out when a person has been a raped victima and i myself was and i use to be so scared to say that i was a rape victim because many of us women are afraid to step up and say something because of stuff like this where the women is one to blame. Rape can happen within a relationship such as boyfriend, family members, strangers it can be anyone and ti can happen anywhere. Mine was in a relationship, for so long i didn’t step up because i was told that i was asking for it when i was under the influence and had no clue. I find it very upsetting to have men think women deserve it because of what they wear or because they are under the influence. I’ve had people in my life who have been raped that are my friends and they stayed silent like me because they were afraid to speak up. This was the fear of us not getting the justice we deserve, as for example the case of Brock Turner, where he had raped a girl behind the dumpster and was under the influence and he had only got 6 months of time in jail. I think that it is sad how the rape cases are handled now a days and the privileges that get certain men sentenced for less time just like Brock Turner who was a swimmer who was aspired to compete in the olympics. There needs to be a better justice system for rape cases, women are just as equal as men and should not be seen any different.

I feel that it doesn’t matter what you wear, how you look at someone, if you smile or not. The problem is the men who commit the rapes. If you were to encounter one of these men there is no outfit that is going to prevent him from trying to assault you. Society loves to shame women for what they wear or how they act. It is never okay to violate someone for any reason and the blame is on the person committing the crime. The way a woman dresses doesn’t provoke rape now it might make a man more attracted to you. If the amount of cleavage or skin you show had a anything to do with the reason women get raped then we should never wear swimsuits or even some uniforms for certain sports. Being a rape victim is hard enough and having society blaming you for it because what you wear or how you act is unfair. Any rape victim whether it’s a female or male shouldn’t have to feel like they are at fault for being violated.

Although not as apparent as in history where women had to live with husbands, then sons if their husbands died and were never allowed to be on their own, men today still feel like they have control over a woman and her body. The argument that a woman’s behavior or fashion sense provokes rape on them goes back to control and restricting women of what they can and cannot do in society. Despite what history has taught us, some people in present day still live by this social ranking where women are below men and need to be told how to live, thus putting women in danger of rape. If we teach our sons at a young age to respect girls, they are more likely to grow up treating women the same as men and therefore, preventing sexism in a society that clearly has much improvement to do. Unfortunately, it seems as if no matter how much we teach our daughters to understand self-importance in order to boost their self-confidence, rape cannot be prevented until our society has reached a unilateral value of gender equality.

Since clothing companies and advertisements all sell little to no clothing cover because it is fashion and what the people want, shouldn’t they be blamed for rape? That is, if clothing is what courts are saying is the reason why a woman was raped. Of course they aren’t blamed, because companies in America have the right to sell whatever clothing they want because an article of clothing is also a form of art as well as a way for people to express themselves. In that case, we as women should be free to buy and wear whatever clothing is available to us, even if it is low cut, has holes in it, or is short. It is our right of self expression.
As a woman, if we want to wear something we think is cute, makes us feel good, shows off our body in a way that empowers us, we should wear it! But women’s bodies are treated as sex objects by society, so we are helpless under the scrutiny of our fellow humans no matter what we wear. We are trapped in a double bind.

I strongly believe that this a lot of this issue perpetuates within school systems. Especially in the past couple of years, you hear stories about young girls and teenagers being sent home from school because their tankt-op showed too much shoulder or their skirts didn’t come past their fingertips. The reasoning behind it always being that the attire is “distracting” to other peers. In a way, it definitely perpetuates rape culture at a young age. Some of these insane clothing rules, which are almost always only geared towards women, are part of the problem.
In my experience, it has always seemed like lessons like “don’t get raped” are taught more often than “don’t rape”, which is exactly what these school dress codes come across as.
Women should be able to dress however they want to without the fear of sexual assault, although granted I do think school attire should be reasonably modest.
In my opinion, the “distracted peers” should be disciplined instead of the girl who gets sent home because her tall frame makes her shorts look shorter and “distracting”.

On the topic of rape along with gender violence society tends to victim blame women. For example why did she wear that dress or why did she drink that much; however, it shouldn’t matter what she is doing because the real problem regarding rape and violence upon women is the men who are doing these wrong acts. Women should be able to wear and dress however they choose because at the end of the day everyone likes to look good and feel good, but victimizing women regarding this topic disturbs me. I agree as well, rapist will rape whatever they feel like so yes what women wear may arouse the man, but just because she looks good and looks at you does not mean you are entitled to her. Also, no means no and without consent in my book along with many other people’s values, it is rape.

It really aggravates me to know and to think that rapist would blame the victim for their actions. Like stated above bouncers restrain from rape while being in a seen with a bunch of naked girls or strippers. Rape is a choice one that no one should ever have to go though but something a rapist should own up to. It’s sad to know that there are many girls who have been raped and don’t bother to speak out about it because they’re afraid they might experience victim blaming. A woman should be able to wear whatever she pleases whether it be covered from head to toe or showing some ankles and cleavage. Women shouldn’t have to alter the way they dress to resist temptation of a male to rape them. Does every girl walking around the beach in a bikini mean she’s asking for it ? NO!? Does a friendly smile mean she’s asking for it ? NO!! A rapist is a coward and therefore blames everyone but themselves and I think for a male to say a female was asking for it or playing hard to get is 100% BS!

Growing up I often heard adults telling me and my friends, “oh you can’t wear that it’s too revealing,” or in school, we would get in trouble for our bra straps showing. To this day, it still baffles me that we teach girls how not to get raped, but no one talks about teaching boys about consent and how not to rape. I think that your example of a strip club is spot on. Strip clubs not only have women in barely there clothing, but also include complete nudity. If men could not control themselves, we would be hearing about rapes in the clubs all the time.
I think that because there are so many reason people rape others, like women who wear complete burqas as you discussed, that there isn’t much proof that clothing alone is a cause for rape. When someone is going to carry out rape, the cues you discussed I feel have more to do with that person committing the act. Each person that commits rape seems to have their own motive; she had blond hair, she winked at me or whatever the cue is that made them believe it needed to be done. No one has ever said, “don’t have blond hair, you will get raped.” We say it’s never the victim’s fault and yet we prepare girls to believe they could have done something to prevent the crimes against them. Not to mention, although it’s not as common, women rape men. Does that mean the clothing they were wearing could be blamed for them being raped? I doubt we would ever hear that.

It’s tricky that sometimes people correlate dressing code with rape, and rapists always try to blame victim for dressing sexy. It’s so unfair but it’s so often to hear that someone as spectators would say something like “you shouldn’t wear that tight dress” or “the skirt is too short” to victim or girls they know, it’s like suddenly all the responsibility or causes are on women, on victim who been violated and need justice and fairness, and I think it’s also the relate to the reason cause “slut shaming”, especially not only men said that, women would also as the oppressor who also as the oppressed at the same time, so it’s never victim’s fault or cause to be violated. She dresses for pleasure herself because it’s her rights to control her mind and body, and rapists or others who critics them don’t have the rights to force her or control her through violence, and it’s pathetic for people who don’t realize it.

There have been a couple of cases throughout the past couple of years that caught the eyes of the media. It was cases where a man had raped a woman and blamed it on what she was wearing. There shouldn’t be any correlation between clothing and rape, why do women have to fear of being raped for wearing a certain dress? Society has taught women that what they wear determines whether or not they are going to be raped. The point you made men at strip club’s was very interesting, if wearing “provocative” clothes makes you more likely to be raped and men cant help themselves, then why can men control themselves at strip clubs? Although many women who are dancers do get followed home and are victims of being raped, that does not mean she was asking for it. Another great point was the “bad girl and good girl” mentality, men think all “bad girls” secretly want sex and define that with what a woman is wearing.
I feel like this all really leads back to when European men started the sexualization of the human anatomy. Seeing naked Amerindian women and came to the conclusion that they needed to be controlled because these men couldn’t control their desires. Women have to deal with this responsibility, not being able to have freedom and wear what they want. At a very young age I was also taught to never look a man in the eyes because that means you want something from them. Clothing does have something to do with why women get raped but it has nothing to do with what she’s actually wearing but what men are taught when they’re young. If we live in a society where the excuse for rape is clothing then this proves we have a lot of fixing to do. There are solutions.

The way women dress has nothing to do with the actual cause of rape. Nine out of ten times rape has nothing to do with sex. It has more to do with having dominance over the victim. Men who are willing to force themselves onto someone, taking away their freedom, have a lot more going on in their head than just the desire for sex. They have a mental disorder and they are sick in the head. You can never blame the victim for something like rape, no matter what type of clothing they wear. There may be a correlation between the type of women a rapist may choose but that does not mean that there is causation. People have to take other variables into consideration. The best way to make people understand more about the cause and effect of rape is to educate the public. The only way to get a clear message out to society is informing people starting with the youth.

I never made the connection between provocative clothing and the work provoke before reading this article but it makes it even more interesting to me. I loved the way you said it, “Interesting that “provocative” is used to describe a style of dress, suggesting that clothes actually provoke something. Attention? Desire? Rape?” How can people actually use that and believe it is a valid excuse, it really is mind boggling. When you talked about rapist being interviewed and some of the examples they mentioned I really feel that it often lies in the power issue. Men who see women as beneath them and are angry that women are becoming more progressive may be feeling threatened and they need a way to blame women when they are caught. I recently watched a program on the network Viceland where a woman interviewed some men who lived in the Middle East. She interviewed them after a prayer service and asked about women being raped in their community. One of the men talked about women walking around after dark “inviting rape” upon themselves especially if they weren’t fully covered. He went on to blame it on the women by saying that they tempt men and that if they just stayed inside and covered with their husbands that they wouldn’t be getting raped. In the Democratic Republic of Congo women are raped as an “act of war.” And what is the difference between men who rape women and men who do not. Is it their cultural background? Is it societies influence on them? Is it that they are mentally sick people? I think there would have to be something terribly wrong with someone who could commit such a violent and awful crime against another human being. The worst part is that a lot of women do end up believing it their fault. This is I’m sure connected to how rape is treated. We just saw a perfect example in the case right here in Santa Clara County where Brock Turner was in jail for a disgustingly short amount of time and sent home to be on house arrest and speak to people about his experience as his “punishment.” Meanwhile the women he is accused of raping will spend the rest of her life dealing with the trauma of something horrible happening to her. And what were his excuses? He was too intoxicated? That can’t possibly excuse rape. I hope that the outcry that we saw against the judge who sentenced Brock Turner can keep up momentum and lead to changes in the future prosecution of men convicted of sexual assault crimes. It can’t continue to be a crime punishable by a slap on the wrist.

I remember one time I was at work and this gentleman and I started speaking about women dressing “provocatively”. He said that women don’t have self respect when they dress with short shorts and crop tops because they are showing the world what they should be showing to their man behind closed doors. I gave him an example, I told him to picture it like a cake on a display shelf. You can look at the cake, the cake looks pleasing, and such but you can’t touch the cake until you buy the cake. I think this was the simplest comparison I could give him because he kept insisting it was the women’s fault that they were raped or molested.
I feel like men aren’t put in that situation where they have to dress in a certain way to get out of being raped so women shouldn’t either. I find it very frustrating when mom’s have to tell their daughters to not wear certain clothes because they are too “provocative”, yet the boys can wear whatever they please. Instead of teaching the girls to not wear “provocative” outfits we should teach the boys about consent and respect towards women.

It’s not the woman’s fault that she is raped! Nor is it a man’s fault if he is raped. The culprits always say that “they were asking for it” and people such as the recently popular Brock Turner, were given light sentences because he was young, successful, and was just having “a bit of fun” and it was a mistake. They act as if the woman who was sexually assaulted didn’t matter and that because of her, this Stanford student’s life would be ruined based off of “one mistake”. Excuses will always be made to cover up for unforgivable acts of rape or assault. Women should feel free to dress however they want, but they are seen provocative because their body parts are represented as parts that are associated with reproduction and nurturing, such as their breasts and butt. Yet, it is seen as normal when men walk around shirtless, and aren’t stopped by police for it. People need to be aware that without women in the world, there would be no men. People should learn how to control themselves and learn about how society is supposed to function with women around them rather than forcing themselves upon them in acts of showing power.

Women are free to dress however they please, it does not mean they are trying to get raped. Why is it that women’s clothing is always seen as something sexual, and men’s clothing is not? Why do we keep objectifying everything for women? I know men are also raped, but how come we never say that he was raped because his clothing made him look too provocative? It does not make sense. We live in the United States where laws were made for people to be free, so women should be free to wear whatever they want, and men should learn to control themselves.

While clothing can be a representation of the person who decides to put the outfit on, the outcome from viewing someone wearing something specific (i.e. bathing suit=swimming or possibly laundry day) should never exceed mere thoughts in one’s own mind about what the person might be trying to convey. Sexy clothing, to me, may say that the person wants to appear sexy, but by no means does it say anything more and since we all have different interpretations of absolutely everything in this world, no one can ever be sure anyway; the woman may not even interpret her dress as sexy but simply nice. In addition, no clothing has ever existed on this planet that instructs anyone to take any type of action whatsoever so the “her tube top was talking to me” defense is weaker than dollar store toilet tissue. I believe that any act of violence first begins from the entitled feelings that say to the criminal that this is an acceptable way to conduct oneself. Afterwards, from fear of suffering the consequences of their own unprovoked wrongdoing, they search to find a stigma that the world has already set into rotation with hopes that people will accept that very “reason” as a viable excuse. Rape, specifically, carries an even more offensive nature than say stealing someone’s car because it seeks to degrade the victim and render them powerless/helpless. I’ve never known clothing to ignite such a feeling, but I have known the cold and careless attitude of a person when they feel superior to another; they are the one to blame.

In my opinion, Women never deserve to be raped no matter how scantily clad the women is. I have seen many times men who were nothing more that just a pair of shorts when they go running. They came in all shapes and sizes. I blame this on the stereotypes that I grew up with. I think that it isn’t the provocative dress choice but the choice of the rapist to rape the woman who decided to dress provocatively. I also blame clothing companies who reinforce this provocative clothing by making clothes that are very revealing. I find it frustrating that men can dress half nude and be seen as sexy and they are not asking for sex, but as soon as it changes genders all of a sudden it is being seen as an ad for sex or rape.

One could be completely naked, that doesn’t mean that they are waving a flag that says “No consent necessary!”

Rape and assault occurs in so many different situations it’s hard to pinpoint why it happens. Oftentimes it can be that two people are using drugs or alcohol. It can be that you were hooking up and the guy or woman changed their mind. It can happen on the street by a complete stranger. There’s also the use of GHB and Rohypnol that a person could go around an entire party lacing people’s drinks in hopes of taking one of them home.

Most situations involve consent whether people are drinking or no matter what you may be doing. A woman could be flirting with you, looking attractive, using non-verbal communication but that doesn’t mean that a conversation isn’t necessary to establish what you both are looking for. It’s about if you are attracted to the other person, not taking advantage of them to satisfy your own needs. Being really honest with each other about what you are wanting out of a date, or even before you hook up at a party.

The other situations like people have stated, have to do with a person wanting to conflict violence upon another human being. I don’t believe that anything could have prevented it in that case. If a person is that removed from their own conscious, what could honestly stop them from doing what they want to do?

I would also agree that it’s displacing the blame. If you see an extremely attractive person wearing tight clothing or whatever they are wearing, it comes down to personal self- control and respect for other people.

A woman’s dress should not be blame for rape. A dress is a dress as simple as that.

We live in a culture that has low regards for women. Women are used as sex objects dressed in provocative clothing or showing most of their skins in commercials, magazines and advertisements where women supposing possessed sexuality that are either given to men or taken by men. Women are paid less for their work, women are seen as stayed at home mom who do all the housework and cooking to please their men. In order to minimize the number of rapes occurrences we need to change how we teach our children and our biases against women. Women should be treated as equal, girls should be taught to do as boys do or capable of in terms of their strength, capabilities and rights to be treated equal. Our society today is not mentally healthy therefore the occurrences of rapes due to the mind set that men have of women.

No i do not think that the way that a women dress should change the fact that a man or boy choose to do what they did to that young lady women and girls, should be allowed to wear whatever they feel is right. Or what they choose to wear to express them selves and who they are.

I know from past research that many rape victims were not dressed provocatively when they were attacked. I believe that women should be free to dress how they want, regardless of someone else’s potential reaction. Just because someone is wearing a short skirt or baring a lot of skin does not mean that someone should take advantage of that person. Dressing in a certain manner does not mean that it is okay for that person to be raped. No one ever really “asks” to be raped. As the popular sayings reads “DON’T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER”! Nobody, regardless of his/her choice of garments, should be raped. Women need to understand that they should not have to feel like they need to dress a certain way. But, if they do dress provocatively, they are not asking to be raped, but they sure are putting themselves in danger, needlessly. It is society that is telling women and men that women are only sex on legs and not actual people with their own agency. Women are told to dress provocatively or they are prudes and unfashionable; their entire being is just sex, made only to please men. In addition, men are taught that women are only good for one thing.
Overall, I believe that dressing provocatively is seen as asking for attention but not asking to be raped.

As a society we like to blame the issue on the victims for the problem and the unacceptable situation. It tends to make things more safe and more okay. In this example of rape instances, I believe that it has to do with more than just the way the victim is dressed. In some situations, yes the way he or she is dressed will initiate or ignite the inner rape desire the offender wants to act upon. However that does not justify or allow for the rape to happen. A shirtless man or a woman in a short skirt does no say, “Hi, I am asking for it by wearing this provocative and sexual clothing. Don’t bother to ask me for sex, just attack me.” No clothing attire asks for such a predatory behavior like rape. There are sometimes criminal, mental, and violent tendencies in a rapist’s twisted mind. The woman is usually brutalized is always to blame. A lot of rape situations happen due to two things other than an intentional provocative dress or look… opportunity and vulnerability. Sometimes that is provocative dressings, sometimes that’s the determination of the offender. I do not think that simply and solely dressing makes someone do something. Maybe for a young preteen but even then it has more to do than just the other person’s clothing.

The answer is NO. Provocative dress never causes rape. Rapists cause rape. This article was very informative and laid down basic answers to society’s questions. For one, rape is never caused by the clothing a female wears and it is never her fault. Regardless of whether or not a female is wearing clothing that shows more skin or is very conservative, her clothes do not provoke an attack on her body. Psychologically, as the article explains, rapists have justified their attack by pitting the blame against the women and her actions, obviously. Furthermore, many rapists have justified their attack by explaining how they were taking back their manhood and wanted to feel dominant in an environment. Unfortunately for these men, raping a woman does not make you look like a man, instead it makes you look like a sick coward. Society has usually blamed women for rape because of the clothing they have worn, however exposure on this issue has explained that women’s clothing do not provoke any attack whatsoever.

Each person owns his/her body. No other being can tell you what to do or make you do stuff that you don’t want. Rapists don’t see that because they feel the need to have control of something in their life. Some do it because they are feeling depressed while at the same time they feel dominant/superior. We see that countries where there is higher patriarchy have higher rates of rape, while those in egalitarian have lower rates. Cues are dangerous at times because people will take those messages as something else. Just like token resistance, where someone think a person wants something but in reality they didn’t and that can create a problem.

I don’t think that the way a woman dresses has anything to do with being sexually assaulted. This is something that we hear way too often, “her outfit caused her to be raped”, or “she was asking for it with that outfit”, and I could not agree more with this post that defends women and their right to wear what they please without the fear of being raped. Comments such as those that suggest it was the victim’s fault because of what their wearing is just an excuse, and a horrible one at that. Why would anyone want to make excuses for rapists? Women should be free to wear what they desire, because no matter how “provocative” their outfit may seem, it does not give anyone the right to sexually assault them, and as a society, we should definitely avoid making a victim feel as if it was their fault in any way.

I completely agree with the fact that a way women dresses has no impact on a man that’s intent on misreading signals. It is so much easier to place the blame on a woman wearing a low-cut shirt or a short dress, because we don’t have to delve into the psychological aspect of why the man felt the need to rape. We simply choose to believe that the women was asking for it because it’s easier and less disturbing for us. Women should not have to go throughout their lives scared about their fashion choices or misread signals, the same way that men do not dread walking through parking garages at night. There is no reason why women must live in fear of being sexually assaulted.

There are indeed some people who are sick enough to rape other people, however these rapists will commit a malicious act of violence regardless of what a person may or may not be wearing. I don’t believe that dressing provocatively can necessarily cause rape, however I don’t think it helps a potential “rape” situation either. When a person scantily clad it is likely they are seeking attention and want others to look at their bodies. A rapist may see this type of dress, and either think the person wearing this attire is wanting sexual attention, or it may just trigger the rapist think about/want to have sex. If they were not thinking sexual thoughts prior, the bare skin may trigger sexual thoughts which could led=ad them to act out in violence. Now I’m not saying that this type of dress is what causes people to act on their violent thoughts, I’m simply saying it may be one of the possibly many triggers that causes someone to act out this way.

Nobody should ever be blamed for being harassed, violated, or raped. It is never the victim’s fault. It is actually pretty pathetic for some people to say “she was asking for it because she was dressed too sexy”. Sadly our society/ media has a way of planting this idea in our minds that sometimes it is the victim’s fault for getting raped. Nobody should ever fear getting raped because of how they are dressed. When I was a young girl I never thought twice about what kind of attention I would get for the clothing I wore. Now as a young woman I think twice about going out in a short dress or showing cleavage because I fear I might be getting the wrong attention. It is very scary to even have to worry about these things.

First off, I have to say rapists and anybody that harms a child in any way are completely disgusting. I could not agree with you more on how dressing slutty provokes someone to commit rape. That’s complete nonsense. These men that choose to rape have serious psychological issues. For whatever reason they think they have, they cannot control it. And no circumstance will change that. I love the stripper point you made. Dudes go to strip clubs all the time and don’t get all “rapey”. Just seeing someone in a provocative or sexual way does not constitute the thought or need to rape. My mother was actually raped in the 70’s and the court asked her to furnish the clothing she was wearing, due to the guy saying she provoked it. I have no clue why that would even be asked for or admissible in any sense. But it was. No idea why.

As discussed in this post, although women’s clothing choices are blamed for them being raped, this is inaccurate. There’s never a valid reason or excuse for rape. Blaming a woman and her clothing choices is ridiculous. Showing skin can be distracting and can attract attention (this is why public schools have dress codes in place). However, a person’s clothing cannot force another to engage in rape.

It is a woman’s business and hers alone as to how she dresses. In the 1980s, many men wore very short shorts – it was the style. I also remember men wearing mesh (see through) shirts. However, no one accused these men of trying to seduce women with their mostly bare legs or chests. No one accused these men of “asking” to be raped. So why are women automatically accused of trying to attract and seduce men if they show a little leg, arm, or chest? Look at other countries like Spain or France. Topless or nude beaches are common. These places don’t have a higher rate of rape than places where women are completely covered up from head to toe all the time. Ultimately, the argument that showing skin causes rape doesn’t hold up.

This topic is a great one because as a young adult, I am still in the club-bar scene and I see how some women dress “ more provocative” versus how other women dress “non-provocative” when going out. The topic of who looks like a “slut” and who doesn’t is always present in my group of friends or acquaintances. I never engage in these talks because when one labeled a women who’s showing a little more skin as a “slut” is really ridiculous and in a sense who ever saying or thinking that is over generalizing women who decided to show a little skin as all sluts. Now one thing I hate the most and makes no sense is when people make comments such as “she was looking for it” when sexually assaulted or raped. Like the post states there is no correlation between how women dress to them getting raped. I also agree that rapist do not look for “cues” they are going to rape because they want to and as a insane people cannot control themselves. I sometimes feel as if these thoughts on how women should dress are all part of our society oppressing women even more. It is as our society does not want women to have the right to feel sexy and empowered because we might be “looking for it” or putting ourselves in risk of getting raped. Contributors to this are both men and women who talk down on women who dress indecently. Also to comment I feel that if women decided to dress a certain way whether it be to show more skin or have a lower cut blouse it does not mean she does not respect her self, it means she is confident in her skins or doesn’t care about what society thinks and its up to everyone else in society to respect that.

@Shanon Muse

You make a very good point about how girls are being taught from a very young age. They are being told to change their actions and the way they express themselves so this and that doesn’t happen to them because, clearly, it is their fault. That’s what they learn anyways.

There was also a rule at my high school that girls couldn’t wear shorts that were “too short”, sleeveless/strapless, and see-through because it would distract from the education of the boys. Girls had to change so that the boys could get a better education. Something doesn’t sound right here. A situation I had encountered recently when I was with my girlfriend demonstrates views of women by society. We were on our way to a concert when we pass a group of construction workers who made remarks as we walk by. My girlfriend is wearing her usual concert outfit, shorts and crop top. One of the remarks that was made to me was as follows: “Keep her close, it’s not our fault she’s dressed like that.” This showed that 1) If she dresses in a certain way, bad things will happen to her and 2) It was my job, as a man, to keep her safe, as if she couldn’t do that on her own. This infuriated me and relates back to this article to how people in our society can blame a man’s cruel actions on the garment a woman decides to wear that day. It’s absurd, really.

It makes me very angry to see that many still blame women for being raped. And the saddest part of this, is that some of us women do that too. The way a women dresses is no reason to force her into sex. Men dress provocative too especially when performing exercise and they do not get sexually harassed the way women do. It is a choice to rape a women. Men who rape want to feel power and in control. It is the fault of the patriarchy we are raised in because it creates the sense that women are objects. Women need more respect from our society in order to change the way some men view women. And as a woman I feel that us women have a responsibility to make this change happen. First of all we must stop making differences between our kids. Stop telling your daughters, be careful how you act with men. Stop being so strict with your daughters, and lenient with your sons, because it gives them the impression that they can do what they please. It shows that women have to behave and control themselves, but men don’t. This is why we blame women instead of men. So lets speak up and demand respect, because staying quiet does more harm than speaking up.

This article is on point. I couldn’t agree more with the statement regarding blame. Victims should never feel at fault or feel blamed for anything. It was an act of insanity by a rabid male. Rationalization by the mind is a powerful thing. You can make yourself believe anything. So much so that you interpret things incorrectly and see things that are not even present. It is a double-edged sword in many instances. In health care, we see this as a benefit due to the mind’s ability to block out certain things (i.e. pain up to a certain level). However, the mind can play tricks on a person.
What kills me is the lack of action that people are taking in response to the massive rise of rapes and sexual assaults in the United States. I know that many universities are being investigated for their lack of a response to the plethora of cases. And some women have taken it into their own hands by placing names of the males in bathroom stalls and other public areas so that other women will know to stay away from them. This obviously brings into question the “innocent before proven guilty” ideology that we have in America. But due to a lack of action, when do we say when?

From a man’s point of view, I totally agree with you saying that the rapist would not give a damn about how the girl is dressed. I do not think one can protect herself by covering up all her skin, not smiling, nor having eye-contacts because those rapist do rape when they do. But here is one thing I want to ask, if you are to take a statistic about which of the two girls; the one with all her skin covered or the one wearing a complete advocative clothes, do men feel sexy or have the desire to take advantage of ? I think the consequence is quite obvious. Considering and admitting the fact that women can wear whatever they want to wear or however they want to behave, I think it is necessary for girls to keep in mind, that some of the things they do actually stimulates guys sexual desire than others.

Since I am from Japan, I will indicate a serious sexual problem that is happening there. In Japan, most of female students start wearing school uniforms (blouse and skirt) when they get to junior-high or high school. Once they do, what happens is that they start wearing their skirts so short. In Japan, students usually go to school using trains and subways (which are super crowded during commuting hours) and often, they get molested or taken peeping shots. It is slightly different from raping but at least seems like those men who do this think that they have more rights to the woman’s body than a woman does, herself.
I happen to read lots of news about these men getting arrested and all they say is they DID IT because they saw cute little legs coming out of girls’s skirts and got the DESIRE.

So, as I can say from this, it is true that the rapist is just giving him excuse for what he did and trying to justify himself.
To conclude, it is always nice to behave and dress, considering the TPO to protect yourself!

It really doesnt matter how you dress and i do not believe that men cant control their selves. That is just ridiculous! For example i had an appointment today to get some x rays done and i had a male perform the x rays and i had to put on a gown without a bra. If men couldnt control theirselves then shouldn’t he have tried to rape or provoke me? Ohh because its his job that makes him automatically controllable? No, its called respect. If a little girl gets raped is it because the way she was dressed? definately not! Men are pigs and if you cannot control you self or have respect for a little girl or a woman then theres something wrong. I completely agree with the stripper situation as well, if the bouncers wanted to rape the women they would. If they couldn’t help their selves they would be grabbing the women all the time.

“If seeing an enticing woman led men to conclude, “I’ve got to rape her,” all men would be rapists. Yet few are.” (BroadBlogs, September 26) Yes, few are, but those are the few we have to take into consideration when we’re out in the world.

I know that what I’m about to say is not a popular idea, but, I disagree with the suggestion that that rapists don’t look for cues. I think rape occurs for different reasons. For example, as women, we’ve been told by law enforcement experts that if we walk with an air of strength and self-confidence, we will be less likely to be attacked. They say that predators look for women who appear timid and easy to assault. While I don’t believe for a moment that women are to be blamed for rape, I do think that it is important for women to be aware that rape is a reality. Attitude and dress can make a difference depending on the situation. Prostitutes get raped frequently. Someone with bad intentions can get the wrong impression from a woman who dresses and behaves in an overtly sexy manner. I’m not saying that women should dress like nuns, but I think it’s a good policy to take stock of the situation or event we are preparing for and dress accordingly.

People must bear some responsibility for the outcomes of their actions. Some friends were discussing the “Slut Walks” that keep popping up,many women………http://ogibogi.com/node/2164 for details.