October, 2009

Crimson columnist Silpa Kovvali's piece today focuses on societal misconceptions of sexual assault:

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=529390

A little while ago I was driving around my hometown when I heard a local
radio DJ refer to R&B singer Rihanna as "knockout gorgeous, pun
intended". This attempt at wit came six months after Rihanna was
physically and verbally assaulted by her then-boyfriend, singer Chris Brown.

We need to set a higher bar for our humor. I'm not sure if
this DJ was reprimanded or not (he should be), but the fact that he felt
comfortable saying what he did on the air says something about our culture. We
shouldn't accept violence against women as something funny or entertaining.
We're better than that.  

As young boys, many of us grow up without anything deeper than the shallowest knowledge of the gender gap. Worse, we often unknowingly absorb ideas of violence and sexual disrespect from pop culture.

It all begins early. As we grow older and (hopefully) begin to understand a little more about the challenges girls and young women face in school and throughout adolescence, we have a responsibility to promote sexual respect among our younger siblings and friends.

In a New York Times article published this spring, Dr. Perri Klass addresses the complicated subject of discussing sexual respect with pre-teens and teens. She says speaking with boys and young men involves a special tenseness: conversations often put the boys in the position of a perpetrator. Dr. Klass suggests that rather than criminalizing adolescents, perhaps we should focus on manners and politeness: values fast disappearing in American society.