(Source: Hostile Politics)
Without taking a stance on feminism, in this post anyway, there are times when any movement can take things to a ridiculous extreme. The persistent outcry about "rape culture" is one of these times. I came across this meme earlier on Facebook, and I don't understand how they can possibly tack Rape Culture onto the end of an otherwise accurate meme.
The claim is that rape culture is about normalizing sexual assault, and tacked on to Donald's actions they are intimating that our culture is somehow normalizing his comments. Let's look at the actual reactions of our culture however!
First let’s look at the GOP’s response starting with his own running mate Mike Pence.
Gov. Mike Pence, Republican vice presidential nominee
Response: “As a husband and father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump the eleven-year-old video released yesterday. I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them. I am grateful that he has expressed remorse and apologized to the American people. We pray for his family and look forward to the opportunity he has to show what is in his heart when he goes before the nation tomorrow night.” - http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/headline-republicans-react-trump-comments-objectifying-women/
Of course he has to toe the line somewhat for political reasons, however he very clearly denounces the comments. In fact, he went so far as to cancel an appearance before making the above statement: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/headline-republicans-react-trump-comments-objectifying-women/
A huge portion of Republican leadership also withdrew their endorsements and denounced Trump’s comments, with the party itself going so far as to pull funding from Trump: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/09/republican-party-to-divert-funding-from-donald-trumps-campaign-wsj.html
Clearly there’s nothing normal about comments that cause an entire political party to withdraw support for their own Presidential candidate.
Let’s be very clear here: The list of Trump’s misdeeds is miles long. Racist comments, corruption, bribery, theft, collusion with our enemies and none of it touched him or really bothered the Republican party. The moment he condoned sexual assault, however, his allies turned their backs. That is not rape culture, that is consent culture. It’s exactly what feminists argue for: Men to stand up against sexual assault.