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From: cramer@kontron.UUCP (Clayton Cramer)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: clothing; gender implications
Message-ID: <236@kontron.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 13-Jun-85 11:58:04 EDT
Article-I.D.: kontron.236
Posted: Thu Jun 13 11:58:04 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 15-Jun-85 05:47:20 EDT
References: <186@timeinc.UUCP> <252@spar.UUCP> <5697@ucla-cs.ARPA> <633@lll-crg.ARPA>
Organization: Kontron Electronics, Irvine, CA
Lines: 42

> Re: provocative clothing
> 
> When the weather is warm, I like to go around in shorts and top of 
> some sort, leotard, t-shirt, etc.  I am consistently informed by my
> mother that this is provocative, and just "asking for rape."  I do
> most of my travelling by walking or riding the bus/BART.  Now, let's
> play with figures.  1 in 4 women raped (I'm just taking this from what 
> I have seen on here).  All the following is guesswork as to figures.
> Say that each rapist has twenty victims.  This makes 1 in 80 men a
> rapist.  This is assuming equal numbers of men and women, which I
> realize is not the case, but it's close enough for wild guesswork.
> 

More likely (from what I have read) each rapist about 200 victims.  That
would make 1 in 800 men a rapist.

> So, I'm in provocative clothing.  I get onto a crowded MUNI bus,
> walk through the city, grab a BART train, go bookshopping in
> Berkeley, back home through the same path.  During this time, I
> encounter at least 400 people, ~200 men.  Which makes it 2-3
> rapists.  (The route I have described covers many different areas,
> some good, some not-so-good, some bad).
> 
> Now, I have been dressing lightly in the heat for a long time, but
> certainly all the time I have lived in California, which makes it
> 6 years.  The weather is very warm at least one month of the year.
> so, 30 days, 60-90 rapists, for 6 years, 360-540 rapists.
> 
> I'm also 5'8", 110 lbs, and totally out of shape from sitting at
> a keyboard most of the time and never getting any exercise, other
> than going for walks (*grin*).  So, I don't think I look very
> intimidating, except maybe for my overstuffed purse.  Why have I
> not been raped? (Don't tell me, let me guess, "I've been lucky,
> SO FAR.")
> 
>                      Muffy

Not lucky --- you've been in places where a rapist is not likely to
attempt a crime for fear of being caught or identified.  No one is
claiming that provocative clothing causes the rapists to "lose control".
It does seem likely that it may encourage a rapist to commit a rape
if he doesn't think he will get caught.