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Rape just bad sex Germaine Greer

(68 Posts)
Bridgeit Thu 31-May-18 11:00:05

She has done it again , our feminist Icon has let us down once again by declaring that most rapes are just ‘ Bad Sex’
has she lost the plot or just desperate for attention ?

Squiffy Thu 31-May-18 11:11:00

Publicity for a book?? Will be interesting to see if it backfires.

Belgravian Thu 31-May-18 11:12:57

I have always despised this losthedome woman.

Now everyone else can see what I saw all along.

She is entitled to her opinion and it is great for her that being raped wasn't particularly traumatic but the way she has worded her comments in her usual smug, superior tone implies that we should all feel the same as her.

I certainly don't and her appearing to trivialise rape is irresponsible, ignorant and downright stupid!

I don't think anyone will continue to be deluded by this attention seeking, weird woman any longer.

Teetime Thu 31-May-18 11:13:03

She has always said things to prompt a strong reaction.

Belgravian Thu 31-May-18 11:13:22

Loathesome

Eglantine21 Thu 31-May-18 13:10:09

Umm I think that was the headline.
Reading it in more detail what she actually said was more like selfish (bad) sex is a kind of rape and gave the example of a husband or partner insisting on going ahead with sex when his wife is exhausted and obviously not in the mood.

What she said is different from the headline.

Anniebach Thu 31-May-18 13:13:26

That’s the trouble with headlines only

Bridgeit Thu 31-May-18 13:25:18

I think it is very wrong to equate ‘rape’ to a halfhearted coupling between partners.

Squiffy Thu 31-May-18 13:25:40

A quote from GG in today's papers:

^When asked what would be an appropriate punishment for men found guilty of rape, she said: 'Two hundred hours of community service would do me.

I have suggested maybe a little tattoo would be a good thing, maybe an R on your hand. I'd prefer it on the cheek really"^

Bridgeit Thu 31-May-18 13:43:18

Absolutely Squiffy, or medication & psychiatric assessment.

Whilst working in a school I was very concerned at the pornography that popped up on computers from unrelated subjects. The Technical expert said it was nigh on impossible to block much of this stuff. It’s very much a concern that gratuitous sex is still being portrayed as the norm for males & to view woman as a commodity.

Witzend Thu 31-May-18 14:16:16

I get the impression nowadays that she has a rather juvenile desire to shock/be very controversial, just for the sake of it or to attract attention.

I went off her some years ago after she gave a talk at a major writers' group I belonged to. The talk was both rushed and somewhat inappropriate, and she made it very clear right afterwards that all she wanted to do was to clear off asap.

Eloethan Thu 31-May-18 15:00:09

Germaine Greer is a controversial figure and I often don't agree with what she says but I was shocked to read the comment she was purported to have made.

It appears from what has been said further up this thread that the headline misrepresented what GG actually said.

Bridgeit Thu 31-May-18 16:21:04

You can hear GGs comments on the online Independent .

paddyann Thu 31-May-18 16:23:48

maybe it doesn't feel "halfhearted" to the woman being made to give in when she doesn't want sex.So when does being coerced become rape ?

notanan2 Thu 31-May-18 19:51:42

thing is that she's technically correct in that what was previously considered bad sex IS now known to be rape... the sleepy wife waking to find her husband on top of her etc... the definition has widened and those cases will not result in convictions..

And different women will feel different about their rape.

Stephen fry said that he enjoyed being raped as a boy. Now while that is extremely problematic, it is wrong to tell rape victims how they SHOULD be feeling. Peoples feelings about their experiences are their feelings.

but the way its re-quoted is all backwards

notanan2 Thu 31-May-18 19:54:46

I dont agree with everything she said or how she said it... but there are some valid points for discussion in there!

Iam64 Thu 31-May-18 20:01:17

I’d be more than irritated to wake up and find my partner “on top of me” notanan. What kind of partner would behave like that?
GG is bonkers to equate “bad sex” with rape.

Bridgeit Thu 31-May-18 20:05:09

I’m sorry, but it is insulting in the extreme to compare bad sex ( I assume this means half hearted or putting up with it when you aren’t in the mood ) to being raped.

notanan2 Thu 31-May-18 20:06:39

Yes. Its rape.
But its not rape that tends to end in conviction
And its rape that victims often justify as bad sex.

Now that we're recignising date/relationship rape more.... it does beg the question re what gets done about it when the justice system is more set up for violent stranger rape?

notanan2 Thu 31-May-18 20:08:27

On MN there are regular posts where the OP isnt sure whether they experienced rape or bad sex

Bridgeit Thu 31-May-18 20:19:14

Being forced to have sex with a partner is obviously rape.
But if a woman Chooses to shall I say ‘accommodate her partner’ then I cannot equate that with rape.

FarNorth Thu 31-May-18 20:34:20

Sure enough there's a book coming out.
'Greer’s book On Rape, which sets out her argument, will be published in September.'

The assorted quotes I saw don't seem to match up to a coherent view.

Bridgeit Thu 31-May-18 20:46:10

Ahh thanks Farnorth, I will look it up , explains a lot!

MaudLillian Thu 07-Jun-18 00:26:01

That does not sound like a comment any feminist would make - it's outrageous. Rape is an act of extreme sexual aggression - to trivialise it like this is unpardonable.

Iam64 Thu 07-Jun-18 08:35:34

There are rapes where a stranger attacks a woman, there are rapes where a partner forces his partner to have intercourse. What about Bridgeit's point about women who 'accommodate' their partner. Some women will resist, resist, resist and eventually give in to avoid a violent row, a violent rape, or waking sleeping children. That scenario is likely to be accompanied by a woman lying there weeping. That must be rape, rather than simply ' bad sex'.