The “sex is rape” school

Shakespeare’s Skank doesn’t understand the difference between seduction and rape:

If a man “steals” a woman’s virginity, it’s called rape. Even if it is “prom night” or whatevthefuck an underage-looking girl in a tacky party dress is meant to represent.

No, it’s not called rape. Stolen virginity refers to a seduction in which the seducer obtains the woman’s virginity under false pretenses, usually involving insincere promises of love. Hence the sartorial dichotomy between the “bad” boy and the “good” girl as well as the prom night symbolism which so mystifies the cognitively shaky sister.

It’s a metaphor, but as is often the case with too-literal, lower-order minds, Shakespeare’s Skank confuses the metaphor with material reality. It really requires single-minded pedantry to do so in this case, since rape requires force, (although feminists would insist coercion will do), while theft doesn’t even require the presence of the victim.

Not content with being embarrassed by those who correct her by pointing out that “stolen hearts” and “stolen kisses” are not literally stolen and that “lost virginity” is not physically misplaced, the Skank stands firmly on her shaky ground:

“Stealing” doesn’t mean coercion or trickery. It means taking without permission. And when you take sex from someone without her permission, that’s called rape…. as Dorothy pointed out above, “stole your heart” is a metaphor. No one’s literal heart is literally stolen. “Stole your virginity” is not.

Yes, and “anti-semitism” doesn’t literally mean “Judenhassen”, and yet that’s precisely what it means, not “a general opposition to all Semitic peoples”. Where does one put a “literally stolen” virginity anyhow, in one’s pocket? In any case, Shakespeare’s Skank could make her literal case, albeit a silly one, if the ad had said “robbed your virginity”, as robbery implies physical presence and the use of force in the same way that stealing implies the use of stealth and subtlety.

The Skank reminds me of an Italian friend who got very upset with his American girlfriend when, while feeling frisky, she told him “I want you bad”. Since “ti voglio bene” (You I want good) actually means “I love you”, he thought she was angry and was telling him that she hated him based on his too-literal translation of her statement. Of course, since Italians are so unexcitable and readily responsive to cool reason, the matter was quickly explained and resolved….

I think the ad is brilliant, as it appeals to men by mocking the clueless nice girls who insist on giving their hearts* to overtly predatory boys, and it appeals to women by giving them something to complain about. Women like nothing better than to portray themselves as victims, this ad is simply appealing to that female mindset which is, ironically enough, exhibited in full E-F-F-E-C-T in the comments at the linked site.

I continue to wonder why these individuals, most of whom are most eloquent about their rejection of religion and the morality derived from it, continue to express any moral objection to the act of rape. If morality is derived from evolved consensus and the social consensus is that rape is acceptable, then it is obvious that rape is entirely moral, the subjective opinion of the raped individual notwithstanding.

* Note to Shakespeare’s Sister: by using this phrase, I do not mean to indicate that a surgical operation has taken place, with or without the consent of the girl or her parents.