(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
German journalist and author Mithu Sanyal (b. 1971) writes thoughtfully about the culture of rape through the ages in Rape: From Lucretia to MeToo, in which she argues that the individual's understanding of rape is closely linked to society's perception of sex, sexuality and gender.
With this book, which is divided into six parts with preface and afterword, Sanyal opens the debate about sexualized violence, boundaries and consent, while also emphasizing the strange fact that society's understanding of rape has remained constant throughout the years, despite the fact that the world has changed.
"Rape kills soul"
The suicide of the Roman woman Lucretia after she was raped by Sextus stands as a symbol of the expression «rape kills the soul». In Lucretia's case, she went so far as to commit suicide to regain her honor. Suicide at that time was hailed as a heroic act in line with the heroic death of the Spartans.
One of the earliest forms of male cohesion was to rape a woman.
Unfortunately, in some cases, rape still ends with suicide, if not with murder committed by the perpetrator or family members (so-called honor killings). If rape does not result in a biological death, it will be associated with a symbolic death as follows «victim» throughout life.
In one of the oldest Babylonian collections of law, Hammurabi's laws of 1754 BC, rape is considered a theft of virginity. The term «snuff» originally used in English about general theft, like the German one «Robbery» (to rob / steal in Norwegian).
Rape is taboo
When anti-rape activist Amber Amour was raped, she posted this about her feelings on Instagram: «I have all those fucked-up feelings that we get after rape… shame, disgust, suffering.» Rape is not just a word; It is a story with a beginning and an end. Only the word itself is abhorrent and arouses strong emotions.
When I read this book publicly, in cafes and in parks, I hid its cover on it for fear of being judged or just because I was ashamed to show the word. It is only afterwards that I understand the importance of breaking this narrative. Rape is a difficult and taboo topic, which is why we must read and talk about it openly.
"'No' means 'yes'."
«in this » is one of the most erotic a woman can say. It is argued that if a woman is to hijack a man, she must be unattainable or difficult to get; she must pretend that she is not interested, not respond to his messages and so on. Many women are of the opinion that men generally do not want women to say clearly and clearly what they want.
Sanyal tries to find an answer to where these attitudes come from. She writes, among other things, that one of the earliest forms of male cohesion was about raping a woman. This rape confirmed, provocatively enough, the man's physical power over the woman and became the triumph of manhood.
Sanyal argues that women are more likely to be raped than men, and that this line of thinking follows us
Furthermore, Sanyal argues that women are more likely to be raped than men do, and that this line of thinking follows us throughout childhood. In my childhood, as far back as the age of twelve, I remember being terrified of being raped when I was alone and the sun setting. I often ran home after basketball training while looking around every ten seconds. I was also encouraged not to wear short mini skirts when I was on a summer vacation in Turkey, because I should not "ask to be raped". Sanyal writes: "'Female fear' effectively became a synonym for rape."
My brother did not live with this fear in his upbringing, while I feared rape as strongly as I feared death. It is disturbing that it was not until the 1970s that the women's movement introduced the slogan "'No' means 'no'", which also gradually shaped the legislation on sexual consent and rape. Later, "Yes" means "yes" was introduced in Sweden among other things.
When Sanyal announced that she wants to change the concept «rape victim» for «rape survivors», she met a huge hatred and love storm. I am in favor of the latter concept, since it sounds more hopeful and stronger than "sacrifice"». The term "victim" is often used about dead people, and not everyone who is raped dies physically.
After reading this book, I understand the scope of the global rape culture better. As the author Susan Brownmiller argues in her extensive work Against Our Will (1975), I therefore venture to conclude that rape is the cause and origin of patriarchy.
(You can also read and follow Cinepolitical, our editor Truls Lie's comments on X.)
