We all hear the stories on the news and social media. Some girl gets raped, the guy goes to court, and everyone suddenly decides to ignore the fact that an innocent girl was emotionally, mentally and physically taken advantage of. If you haven’t already watched the new Netflix show “13 Reasons Why” please do it. Prepare yourself for some vividly horrifying scenes and a brutally honest truth about what happens in our world today. One aspect of life that the show sheds light on is incident pertaining to rape. I am not going to lie when I say I couldn’t watch the entire scenes that focused on the act, however, I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Today our generation is very driven by sexual desires. We are living in a time where you cannot watch television or go see a movie without being shown some sort of advertisement or scene that relates to a half naked woman or man, sex, or physical touch. It is sad that consumerism has turned into this. Our world is feeding the minds of men and women (and now children) with unrealistic expectations.
I see the sexual desires every day. I live on a huge college campus where I cannot go to a bar or fraternity house without some guy coming up to me with ulterior motives. I decide to try to be friendly and have a conversation but eventually, I realize what he wants and it’s so upsetting that this is what we live with today.
I sadly have seen the effects of rape and sexual assault. I have seen the destruction it brings to someone and the way they lose touch with the world. I have seen the tears and screams of someone wondering “why them.” I have seen the fear in someone’s eyes as they hide their biggest secret and worst memory. I have come face-to-face with guys who I know committed it and I have never hated someone so much. If a girl says no, it means no. It doesn’t mean you take off her pants for her. If a girl is incoherent and unable to care for herself, let alone verbally give consent then she definitely does not want you right now. No one has permission to remotely touch another person unless that person has similar desires, end of story.
“13 Reasons Why” perfectly teaches viewers than we cannot ignore rape, nor can we allow victims to be afraid of coming forward. It absolutely destroys some of the liveliest people. One human can take any last ounce of innocence from a person and crush their entire world in a matter of seconds, while the other person will walk away with nothing weighing on their shoulders and a “pleasurable” experience. Being a victim of rape is not something that can be shared as easily as telling someone what you do for work. Victims of rape hide in fear of judgment and it takes a lot for them to ever want to trust someone with their body again. But things do not have to be this way. With shows such as “13 Reasons Why,” and more people speaking up, we can build a safe haven for those victims and avoid future incidents.
I think this television show should be shown to all high school and college students to raise awareness of mental health and the many lessons that the show teaches. This show could potentially be the what someone needs in their life in order to gain strength to get help and admit their issues, such as being a rape victim.