As many of us have probably saw in recent news, another famous celeb has been accused of sexual assault. This time, it's Aziz Ansari.
I realized who was now accused when a New York Times Opinion article came up on my news feed titled, "Aziz Ansari Is Guilty. Of Not Being A Mind Reader." My initial reaction to new allegations is "Him?! Wow, I never thought he would do something like that!"
The allegations against Matt Lauer totally mind f*cked me. But, for those who are not aware of what happened, last week, a female photographer's (called "Grace" for anonymity) experience going on a date with Aziz Ansari was published on the website "Babe." She alleges that Aziz pressured her to engage in sexual activities that she was not comfortable with.
NOW, girls, think back to everyone you had sexual experiences with - have you ever felt this way? Personally, I can think of a handful of times growing up that I have been in a situation such as this where I was not comfortable, but felt pressured into doing something anyway. Here's where the guys and older people tend to say, "Well, she shouldn't have put herself in a situation where she could feel uncomfortable." All I have to say to that is, why don't we start teaching boys from a young age about social cues, how to tell when someone is uncomfortable, to be respectful, and to understand that NO means NO. I understand that women assault men as well, but, right now, I'm focusing on Aziz Ansari.
If you're not capable of understanding verbal and nonverbal cues in regards to someone being uncomfortable, sorry not sorry, but you should not be having sex. I just have this hatred for men who think because they're rich, good-looking, etc.., they are entitled to something.
Shortly after the allegations came out, Aziz released a statement saying that the sexual activity "by all indications were completely consensual" and that he was "surprised and concerned" when he found out that Grace felt uncomfortable. However, it's stated in numerous articles that Aziz consistently asked when she was going to let him "f*ck" her." She played it off and said, "Next date," where he replies with a "Well, if I poured you another glass of wine now, would it count as our second date?" After he brought her to stand in front of a mirror and asked "Where she wanted it" while slamming his penis against her, she said "...No, I don't think I'm ready to do this, I really don't think I'm going to do this." But, nevertheless, Aziz persisted. As I was first reading the story, I could feel the awkwardness and how uncomfortable that atmosphere must have been, so I have no idea how Aziz didn't feel it.
Men, it's as simple as this: if a woman says no, accept it, put her coat on, call her an Uber, and text her later to make sure she got home okay. Women are not objects or simply here just for sexual pleasure. Women, it's as simple as this: if you are not interested in someone, don't lead them on, play with their emotions, and please verbally say no as many times as you need to, because as we can see some men aren't exactly capable of catching on to nonverbal and verbal cues. Maybe we'll have to resort to screaming "NO" as loud as we can to scare them away.
Perhaps Aziz Ansari did take it way too far, or maybe Grace's story isn't true, but until the story unravels, I will side with her. I know how hard it is to come out and say what happened, so I can't imagine what it would be like to tell the public that a celebrity sexually assaulted you. Until then, I'll stop watching my favorite show Parks and Recreation and steer clear of Master of None until I find out the type of man Aziz Ansari truly is.
As Tupac once said "A woman brought you into this world, so you have no right to disrespect one." Men, take some words of advice.