All men are potential rapists?

It's time for our controversial feminist topic of the day! :D

Let's have a look at a statement oft-associated with feminism and all the 'extremism' it stands for. You might have seen it on a poster on campus, or on the internet, or had it quoted to you -- that all men are potential rapists. First, the statement is clearly a shock tactic, which doesn't always work the way you want them to, so I understand when people react unfavourably to what is admittedly a deliberately incendiary statement.

But this is where I have to ask everyone to put aside their gut reactions and try to see the point of that statement. It's not about the men. I don't think I can stress that enough. People often seem to interpret it as a preemptory accusation of all men, a confirmation of feminism's entrenched misandry, and they immediately protest, There are plenty of decent, good-hearted guys out there! I know men who would never! etc, etc.

Well, it's not about the men. Now flip that viewpoint around: it's about the women who are told they have to live with that statement's 'reality'.

For one, it is the truth. Fact of the matter is, every time a girl turns down a much-needed offer of a ride late at night from a guy, she's treating him as a potential rapist. When a woman makes sure not to go to the bathroom alone, she's treating every man in the vicinity as a potential rapist. She takes care not to be alone with a man unnecessarily, potential rapist. You get the pattern. And every girl out there has, at some point, done something along those lines. It's what the world tells them. I'm not saying that every man out there is a hair-trigger away from turning into a ravening beast of lust and ravishing their way through towns, but that women are expected to live their lives as if that is the case.

'All men are potential rapists' is the essential breakdown of all the rules that have been taught to women, and if they break even a single one, they are often blamed when something happens to them. I don't think you need me to point out to you how impossible it is to follow absolutely the rules of the beware-all-men tenet, but that is the paradox women have to live with, everyday.

Men are privileged in this area -- they don't have to live as if all men (or women) are potential rapists. They don't have to and aren't expected to plan their excursions and social life and daily commute around that rule. I know it's hard to get over first impressions and initial emotional reactions so from a diplomatic viewpoint, the statement could be put in a better way (or explained in a drawn-out blog post cough). But honestly, 'all men are potential rapists' really quite succinctly depicts how women have to live, and that's the meat of it.

To any of you, male and female, who have ever been offended by that statement: If a girl you just met turned your offer of a ride down, you'd understand she was concerned for her safety. You'd understand it wasn't about you, but about her. So apply that understanding right now, and get angry with the reality that women are callously expected to 'deal' with instead of the statement that merely pointed it out.