“It seems as if the considerable push back again victim-blaming has pushed all the way past prudence and levelheadedness, making anyone who suggests that “women can actually be taught how to behave too” insensitive or a “rape enabler.” And, while the sentiment in Maxwell’s article suggests that victim-blaming is dangerous, I think it’s even more dangerous to neglect to remind young women that, while it’s never their fault if they happen to get sexually assaulted, they shouldn’t thumb their noses to common sense either.”

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(I only link to people I like, so check out this takedown if you want the original source.)

Oh my god this is so stupid.

Let me try to explain this as simply as I can:

Risk-avoidant behavior (to pick a less charged example: lock your door when you leave your house) reduces the probability that one person will become a victim of a crime.

Teaching aversion to doing harm (to hell with less charged examples, how about “HEY SON DON’T BE A RAPIST”) prevents the crime from happening in the first place.

The most obvious reason “stop dressing slutty” makes you a rape enabler is that IT DOES NOT REDUCE THE NUMBER OF RAPES AT ALL. At best — and I am talking in your wildest fucking dreams about the effectiveness of demure clothing at rape deterrence — it reduces the chance that certain women will be selected as victims, in favor of other, more sluttily dressed (and therefore expendable???) women.

What you are saying is that “don’t be the one he picks as his victim!” is just as important a message as “hey asshole, stop making people victims at all!” It’s not. Even if this dress code bullshit were incredibly effective (which, news flash: it’s not), all it can ever hope to accomplish is to transfer the burden of victimhood to someone you, personally, care less about.

YOU ARE RESPONDING TO RAPE WITH “NOT IN MY BACK YARD!” AND THEN WONDERING WHY PEOPLE WITH THEIR OWN BACK YARDS THINK YOU ARE AN ASSHOLE.

(via doctordisaster)

Hear, hear.