(cn sexual assault) i'm currently developing a theory around the "monstrous" r/pist and how that image is a literal barrier to fighting sexual assault because it displaces blame into one individual "monster" rather than the system that creates & sustains r/pe as a social problem.

Much has been said about fatphobia & how people treated Weinstein as a monstruos outlier rather than addressing the structure of labour that accommodates & reproduces abusers.

And of course, it obfuscates the abuse of "traditionally" good looking men like Ansel Elgort, and how r/pe is about power rather than sexual desire.

When people say victim blaming things like "he's too attractive and doesn't have to do that", they misunderstand that the point of r/pe is to dominate rather than sexual pleasure.

The monstrous r/pist serves as a justification for the assault: "he had to do it because he is unattractive", obfuscating the domination of the act of r/pe.

We've seen countless reports on Weinstein since he was exposed, but how many reports have come out about material changes to the division of labour and conditions of work of women in Hollywood?

Earlier, I tweeted about the "casting couch" phenomenon in Hollywood and how it was identified as a problem in reports re: Weinstein. I asked if this has been directly addressed beyond outcry. https://mobile.twitter.com/NicoleFroio/status/1273991690190237701

I asked because Weinstein's imprisonment hasn't stopped r/pe and sexual assault in Hollywood; it hasn't shifted the culture around sexualization of young girls.

In summary: sexual violence is a labour issue, a sexual education issue, a cultural issue--it is not the problem of a few bad & monstrous men. Things have to change structurally, men's power needs to be diluted & distributed (if not abolished altogether).

And crucially: you don't solve r/pe as a social problem through a criminal justice system that is based on racialized subordination. That just institutionalises the issue even more & the more power people are given, the more they're likely to abuse it.