Thanks for the rundown! I think I understand a little, at least about the lack of general cultural consideration of consent, but I’m not certain about what specifically pushes this meme over the line into problematic territory.
Would be be fair to say that the issue with this particular meme is that we shouldn’t assume they are in a relationship? I certainly believe it was implied, but it’s true that there’s nothing outright stating that he’s not looking at some unknown woman as she sleeps, which would certainly be rapey. Or is okay that we assume that they’re in a relationship, and the issue is that being aroused while looking at someone, even someone who accepts your attraction to them, is inherently objectifying, and while that can be acceptable, it should never be assumed to be acceptable without express consent being given in the presence of the observer?
Or is the issue here not with the meme itself, but the simple fact that not enough people outwardly asked the question of whether consent was present, even if after more consideration it likely would be? Like, I want to assume the best in people, and I know that even just questioning if someone might be evil can drastically impact the personal and public perception of them, so I don’t want to walk around assuming the worst of any given scenario, but I also don’t want to overstep into territory that’s going to make someone uncomfortable past the normal amount of discomfort everyone has to put up with that’s just inherent to interpersonal communication.
The more I think about it the more I think it’s just about keeping consent in mind, even if there’s no clear “right” answer, even for a specific given scenario, but it’s hard to make that into an actionable plan for change that isn’t just always being pessimistic about human nature. Like, even though I know it’s not meant to be, the act of asking for consent is essentially the act of asking if someone is doing something wrong. It’s fine when it’s between you and another person, but when it’s someone on the outside looking in, it’s hard to know when to ask, and when doing so is being too suspicious of someone who doesn’t deserve that. Maybe that’s wrong, though, and I’m hitting a wall of my own internalized misogyny… it’s tough.
Zensate@lemmy.world 5 days ago
God tier trolling
orioler25@lemmy.world 5 days ago
Done gooning to shellfish allergies, I see.
Zensate@lemmy.world 5 days ago
So if a woman said this about a man you’d say it was rape culture as well right?
You aren’t just sexist right?
orioler25@lemmy.world 5 days ago
One: the reality of our world is that we are in a patriarchy with cultural norms conducive to patriarchy, and the overwhelming majority of rapists are men, who also happen to be privileged within rape culture.
Two: Consent isn’t gendered, and you’ll note (if you can muster up the courage to read my comments) I do say very explicitly multiple times that this is also expected of women.
Three: if you’re going to dump the incel all over, put down a sign at the very least.