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From: london@oddjob.UUCP (David London)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: provocative clothing
Message-ID: <755@oddjob.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 28-May-85 17:19:04 EDT
Article-I.D.: oddjob.755
Posted: Tue May 28 17:19:04 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 30-May-85 03:53:18 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: U. Chicago, Astronomy & Astrophysics
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<>

>> me
> Jon Corbet

>>                        ... suggests an analogy between a person walking
>>around in a bad neighbourhood with $100 bills hanging out of his pockets,
>>and a women wearing "suggestive" clothing. Ross, you just don't get it, do
>>you? For the sake of argument, suppose I concede that I am partly at fault
>>for getting robbed. In this case, the purpose of the robbery was to get
>>my money. Rape is nothing like this. A woman is not raped because the man
>>was so horny he couldn't stand it; a woman is raped BECAUSE SHE IS A WOMAN.

>	Ahh, but rape is a crime of anger against women.  I don't know for
>sure, but I suspect that clothing meant to show off a person's female nature
>would tend to aggravate the sort of anger that must already be present in a
>person predisposed to rape.  It seems to me that a woman really does increase
>her chances of being raped by dressing "provocatively." 

No, I don't buy it. First of all, let's say you are a 30-year old man. What 
sort of provocative clothing could a 70-year old woman or a 12-year old girl
wear that would stir up such anger? (No flames about attractive older women, 
please). Secondly, the articles I've read in which rapists are interviewed
do not support the provocative clothing argument. Usually, it's something
else, like the rapist hated his mother, etc.. The provocative clothing 
argument seems not to be based on fact, but is rather a convenient legal 
technique, which works because society is not yet willing to mete out the
blame where it is due.

					David London
					..!ihnp4!oddjob!london