Like most mellow people I love a good joke. There's nothing like having to wipe away tears from laughing so hard. I find laughing to be a great stress relief, and I think it's the cheapest and best medicine. There are so many wonderful, hilarious people, things and events that make us laugh but rape is not one of those things. As a 19-year-old female college student, I can not comprehend why people think it is funny to joke about someone being raped, or sexually assaulted.
If you've had the privilege of not hearing one of these blatantly disrespectful jokes Australian comedian Ray Badran has provided a great example. In on of his shows Badran so eloquently stated, "“If you’re black you can do jokes about being black if you’re gay you can do jokes about being gay … so I’m not sure if you can tell just by looking at me but … I can do rape jokes.” Badran then went on to defend this material by reiterating that the joke is okay because it's "self-deprecating." Nice try Ray, but ya still sound like an inconsiderate jerk no matter how you spin it.
The main problem that I have with comedians, such as Ray Badran, making jokes out of rape is how many people they hurt. We like to think that rape is such an abstract, horrible thing that only happens on "Law and Order SVU" but it is a huge problem in our culture. The sad truth is that one out of every five women will be raped. That is 20 percent of all women. That means out of the United States current female population of 50.8 million, 10 million of them will be raped at some point during their lives. These jokes bring up horrible memories for those who have been affected by rape. This statistic alone should be enough of a reason for comedians, and anyone telling a joke to leave rape and rape victims out of their jokes.
The sexual violation of the male or female body should never be used as someone's poor attempts at a punchline. Why are comedians like Badran spending time making up jokes about rape when Donald Trump's presidential campaign is providing enough material for an entire decade of SNL skits? Donald Trump's hairline alone should spark enough comedic creativity.
Not only are comedians offending those who are affected by rape but they are also normalizing rape by constantly using it as a joke. These jokes work the word rape into everyday language. I am so sick of hearing people talk about how their chemistry exam "raped" them. I'm pretty sure there are a million other ways to described a chemistry test without using a term that invokes an act of sexual violence.
So call me a raging, angry feminist because that's exactly what I am. I'll continue to be angry until people stop questioning why I don't laugh at their rape jokes. It's not funny, and it never will be.
