The evolution of language is something which I find incredibly interesting, specifically the evolution of slang and colloquialisms. However, sometimes slang proves detrimental to our societal structure.
The word ”gay” has gone from meaning “happy,” to “homosexual,” to “stupid.” Those transitions have put a great deal of strain on the gay community, which has had to cope with being called stupid. Another example is the liberal use of the word “rape.” The use of this word in jokes and metaphors has become very common in our generation. After a tough test, have you ever caught yourself saying “That test totally raped me,” or, when exchanging trash talk during a game, told those you were competing against that you were “going to rape them?”
Until very recently, I said things like this all the time to my friends. I thought nothing of it, because of how desensitized I had become to the word. However, we need to be careful about what words we let ourselves get desensitized to. Rape is a serious problem and mention of it should still carry a significant weight.
To put things into a little perspective, let’s look at some stats here at N.C. State. Statistics from the US Department of Justice show that 3.5 percent of women in college will be raped or be in an attempted rape situation. This translates to approximately 480 women per academic school year who are either involved in an attempted rape or rape. After four years attending N.C. State, it is projected that nearly 3500 women will be in the same situation.
These numbers seem huge when compared to the cases of reported rape over the past few years. From the N.C. State Police crime statistics, in 2007 there were three reported cases of rape, three in 2008, two in 2009 and no cases reported in 2010. This huge discrepancy stands as proof that rape is the most underreported crime out there.
75 percent of female rape victims personally know the assailant. Rape is already a hard enough thing for victims to deal with and to report, due to its traumatic nature. Iimagine how much harder it must be for those 75 percent to turn in people they know. People whom they may have considered their friends and maybe even family. Admitting to yourself that people you may have trusted and had good opinions of are monsters capable of rape, cannot be easy and it cannot be easy to turn them in because of how scared you probably are.
Another serious issue to consider is how people perceive rape victims. While perusing one of my friend’s Tumblr posts, I came across an interesting thread on the topic of rape. There was a picture of an attractive girl dressed up in pretty average “going out” clothes who had been raped. User “hurrdurralex” had this to say about the girl “What do you think is going to happen when you have whore makeup on, a short skirt, a midriff top and all that? You’re making yourself a target to men and one of those men might be a rapist”.
Essentially, he is claiming that girls who like to look good are asking to be raped. For the sake of my belief in humanity, I was hoping he was being sarcastic, so I checked out his Tumblr. He was not being sarcastic. If one person can have such ludicrous thoughts, then other people probably agree. Being attractive is not asking to be raped. No one asks to be raped. Ever. Rape fantasies are just that, fantasies. Fantasies are not actual rape. If a woman decided to walk around naked, that would still not count as an invitation to rape her, because there is no such thing as an invitation to rape someone. The definition itself prevents that since it is defined as nonconsensual sex.
So I ask you, the creators of the evolution of our language, to take a step back and think about what you are about to say. Is it really necessary to use a word with so many real problems and real victims, with people you may know, even as a colloquialism?
