Tess+M’s+Final+AmEx+2015+Speech

"Blurred Lines" Ok, now he was close Tried to domesticate you But you're an animal Baby, it's in your nature Just let me liberate you You don't need no papers That man is not your maker And that's why I'm gon' take a
 * Title of Speech **
 * Text of Speech **

[Hook - Robin Thicke:] Good girl I know you want it You're a good girl Can't let it get past me I hate these blurred lines I know you want it

Many of you may recognize these lyrics from the popular song Blurred Lines by Robin Thick. We have all heard it played countless times on the radio and sung along with it, being that it is a very catchy song. However, I find the fact that this song is so popular and widely accepted by our society to be extremely alarming. When I took a closer look at the lyrics to this song, I realized just how offensive and disturbing they are. They suggest that sexual consent is blurred and that a man knows better than a woman the choices that she should make about what happens to her own body. It brings to light a much larger problem within our country, and world wide for that matter, with sexual assault and rape. I would like to begin by sharing some statistics with you all from the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, commonly referred to as RAINN. 1 out of every 6 women in America has been the victim of a rape or attempted rape in her lifetime. And while the word rape is normally associated with being a crime perpetrated against women only, this is far from the case. 1 in every 33 men will experience a rape or attempted rape in his lifetime. While this number is not nearly as high as the number of sexual crimes perpetrated against women, it is still an issue that affects men. These statistics highlight the fact that sexual assault is not just a women’s issue. It affects men, women and children and is therefore a human issue, affecting millions of Americans and their families. Unfortunately, as alarming as these statistics are, they do not account for the large number of rapes and instances of sexual assault that go unreported. It is estimated that every 107 seconds an instance of sexual assault happens in America, however, 68% of instances of assault go unreported, most likely due to the fear and shame that victims of these crimes feel. Because of this, 98% of the criminals perpetrating these crimes will never go to jail or prison. We live in a society where the victims of these crimes are blamed rather than the criminals. Why is this? Why do we blame someone for being attacked? I find that this rule of victim blaming does not apply to other crimes. If someone had their car stolen, no one would say, “Well they were asking for it, they shouldn’t have had their car parked on that street”. Unfortunately, the victims of sexual assault do not receive the same sympathy that victims of other crimes receive. Time and time again these victims are told that they were “asking for it”. They are questioned on their appearance, or the level of alcohol they had consumed. This habit of blaming the victim in these circumstances creates a toxic atmosphere in which victims feel ashamed and unwilling to speak out about their experiences. This past year when allegations arose that Bill Cosby drugged and raped nearly 40 women, I was completely floored. I felt this same sense of shock in recent weeks when it was discovered that Josh Duggar from the TLC show 19 Kids and Counting had molested four of his sisters and a babysitter as a teenager. Not only do these stories disgust me, but they have made me realize that this is a much bigger issue within our nation than I had ever imagined. Rape is not just something that happens to a select few under rare circumstances. It is far more common and it has pervaded our culture. It is glorified in music, television, novels and videogames. I have heard countless rape jokes from my peers and every time that I have tried to point out how offensive this is, I have been shrugged off as over sensitive and uptight. I believe that if this problem is ever to be resolved, we need to realize that this is no laughing matter. We need to stop denying that rape culture does in fact exist and surrounds us every day. There needs to be a major shift in the way that sexual violence is portrayed and viewed in our country in order for this problem to be resolved. One question that often arises while discussing this topic is, what exactly counts as rape? If a victim doesn’t say no, but doesn’t say yes either, does that count as rape? The answer to that question is yes, absolutely. If a victim is pressured into doing something they don’t want to, that is rape. If a victim is unconscious, that is rape. If a victim initially says yes, but then changes their mind, and the attacker continues, this is also rape. These lines should never be “blurred” as Robin Thick suggests. In the America I want to grow old in, every person will have complete bodily autonomy. In the America I want to grow old in, no young girl will ever be taught to yell “fire” rather than “rape” in the case of an attack. In the America I want to grow old in, no one will ever be questioned on their attire or the status of their sobriety following an attack. In the America I want to grow old in, every single perpetrator of these heinous crimes will be brought to justice and we will be able to walk the streets with peace of mind knowing that we are safe.

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/robinthicke/blurredlines.html https://www.rainn.org/statistics http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/11/21/bill_cosby_accusers_list_sexual_assault_rape_drugs_feature_in_women_s_stories.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/06/03/what-to-expect-from-the-fox-news-interview-with-josh-duggars-parents/
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