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Bad Girl Gets "Not Raped"; Roommate Doesn't Believe Her
"Not Rape Epidemic": The Modeling Industry Is Anything But Immune

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whynotshesaid
08/13/09

In reply to Speak No Evil
I read the news release this story was based on. The writer of this piece is using the language used by the sheriff's office.

I wrote my story using "forced to have sex," but my headline used the word "rape." However, we generally stick to "sexually assaulted" or "sexually battered," because it's less salacious, and hence less likely to bring out the "but she asked for it!" crowd.
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Edited by whynotshesaid at 08/13/09 10:38 AM whynotshesaid was starred whynotshesaid was unstarred

inabook
08/12/09

In reply to Speak No Evil
I'm going to guess that it has to do with the legal definition of rape in that area-- in some jurisdictions, it requires the victim to put up physical resistance, and if that wasn't the case here, it could be libel to say rape.
Rape laws in many places need severely revised.
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CherriSpryte
08/12/09

In reply to Speak No Evil
Rape only happens in bad far away places, like Africa, duh!!!!
/major sarcasm.
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LaComtesse
08/12/09

In reply to Speak No Evil
Poorly written, but it’s no crime against womanity, imo. The writer has used the definition of the word rape in lieu of the word—it has nevertheless been spelled out and I’m okay with it. Perhaps s/he avoided the word "rape" since it hasn’t gone to trial yet.
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utensil42
08/12/09

@LaComtesse: I see two problems with it. First, rape is not "having sex" and I have a really hard time whenever anyone says that. It's like the Australian radio hosts pulling the "other than the time you were raped, have you ever had sex?" bullshit. Second, rape is an ugly action that has an equally ugly word attached to it. Not using the proper word makes it seem less serious, less important. I worry that people who start to think of it as "not rape" will start to think of rape as a non-serious societal issue.
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LaComtesse
08/12/09

@utensil42: I thought about that myself and I see the point, but "forced sex," while not as loaded a word as "rape" comes to the same basic point. I don't think you run the risk of associating "forced" sex with actual consentual sex in any meaningful way. Sort of like, would you associate "poison cupcake" with something good that you would want to eat just because "cupcake" is in the phrase?
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Jack_Burton
08/12/09

In reply to Speak No Evil
Google is your friend:
[www.facebook.com]
[www.abcactionnews.com]
[www.theledger.com]
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justcallmeangel
08/12/09

In reply to Speak No Evil
Fox Alleged News alleges that an alleged victim was allegedly maybe, probably not even really allegedly battered. Allegedly sexually. Allegedly.
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KiddyKat
08/12/09

In reply to Speak No Evil
I'm confused, why exactly won't they say "rape"? Is that supposed to mitigate the crime? Or are they just assholes?
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Jack_Burton
08/12/09

@KiddyKat: He probably wasn't charged with rape, but Fox still wanted a juicy story.
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KiddyKat
08/12/09

@Jack_Burton: I would have still called it rape but just, you know, given the details the way reporters are supposed to. But I guess Fox doesn't really have reporters.
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morninggloria
08/12/09

In reply to Speak No Evil
"Sexual battery" is when a Duracel AA recognizes/acts upon its biological impetus to reproduce.
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Sev
08/12/09

@morninggloria: I thought a "sexual battery" is what powers my pocket rocket.
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ModanGaaru
08/12/09

In reply to Speak No Evil
In the interests of being both fair and balanced, I need to point out that the term "fox news" is also some sort of clumsy circumlocution.
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I_b_meh
08/12/09

In reply to Speak No Evil
I for one haven't liked the terminology used for a long time. To say someone was sexually assaulted (not even going to bother with "forced her to have sex against her will") just doesn't have the same visceral reaction for me as saying they were raped. Some people might see it as not that important but to me it takes some of the power away from such a heinous and despicable act. I read one time that rape is basically emotional murder, I think that is the best description I ever saw for it and it has stuck with me permanently.
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Rooo sez BISH PLZ
08/12/09

In reply to Speak No Evil
They've been taking lessons from that judge in -- where was it, Utah, Nebraska, Kansas? More than one occurrence of this lately, it seems -- who permitted photos submitted into evidence of the 17-y-o girl who'd been sexually assaulted because she and her assailants had been drinking, and he couldn't permit "such behavior" to go unrebuked.
Loooong sigh.
To thoroughly misquote Genesis, "We've got a long long way to go", but I feel a strange case of deja vu after reading my mother's 70s mags, with the Virginia Slims ads, and want to say, along with Veronica when Heather #3 told her she looked like hell, 'Yeah? I just got back."
/rant
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utensil42
08/12/09

@Rooo sez BISH PLZ: Kansas. More evidence that there is something the matter with Kansas. Also, he didn't just show photos of her. He showed photos of her taken DURING the assault, to parents and kids. How that wasn't "distributing child pornography" is totally beyond me.
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Rooo sez BISH PLZ promoted this comment Edited by utensil42 at 08/12/09 1:51 PM utensil42 was starred utensil42 was unstarred

Rooo sez BISH PLZ
08/12/09

@utensil42: Probably b/c, as you said, it was Kansas.
But I really did read something about a similar case in Utah as well. I have to find it. This is far from an uncommon occurrence.
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NefariousNewt
08/12/09

In reply to Speak No Evil
Would someone explain the difference between "sexual battery" and rape? They may have taken their cue from the charges, but even so, that's a stretch.
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Jack_Burton
08/12/09

@NefariousNewt: Libel?
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BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit)
08/12/09

In reply to Speak No Evil
I knew this was Polk County Florida before I even clicked the link. Fail on every level.
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whynotshesaid
08/13/09

@BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs....: Ha, you have no idea. We joke about Polk County in our newsroom - it's the armpit of Florida. And THAT is saying something.
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slowpoke.r
08/12/09

In reply to Speak No Evil
he lured that woman, also 19, to an isolated area and has sex with her despite her pleas for him to stop

As opposed to: he lured that woman, also 19, to an isolated area and raped her.

That's nine words less; maybe Fox pays by the word?
ETA: Their typo/ poor grammar above, not mine. They're word rich but edit poor, apparently.
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Edited by slowpoke.r at 08/12/09 12:35 PM slowpoke.r was starred slowpoke.r was unstarred

NefariousNewt
08/12/09

@slowpoke.r: Well, she might have been pleading with him to stop, but as Fox News would no doubt point out, "No means yes."
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Cerridwen
08/12/09

@NefariousNewt: Also, he did not have sex with her. He raped her. That phrase is patently false doublespeak and the continued conflation of sex and rape is extremely damaging.
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labeled
08/12/09

@slowpoke.r: I'd c&p'd that quote too - it seemed like such an oddly worded, disconnected way to say that he raped, or (euphemistically) sexually assaulted a woman. Instead, it somehow leaves the impression of having sex with an inanimate object, even with the addition of "despite her pleas for him to stop."

Or, conversely, it is just a hair more salacious.
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slowpoke.r
08/12/09

@labeled: You know, it really IS more salacious. The isolated area, pleas, all of the wording is exactly like a crime scene tech describing a case to Benson and Stabler. Except they would then give the guy a look and say, "So he RAPED her?" and walk away.

I know Fox news will never get this, but euphemisms do not make for good reporting.
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lilbobbytables
08/12/09

In reply to Speak No Evil
Part of me wants to read the story, but the other part is split between not wanting to turn into lilhulkytables and the other part does not want to give Fox the pageview. Stupid Fox news.

I left "News" in lowercase as an ineffectual linguistic protest. Take that, Fox!
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Edited by lilbobbytables at 08/12/09 12:34 PM lilbobbytables was starred lilbobbytables was unstarred

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