Twitter is one of the only forms of social media that allows us to post on-the-go. It allows us to say whatever is on our mind, at any given moment, without putting much thought or effort into what we’re really saying and the consequences it might have.
Twitter is also home to some horrifyingly truthful thoughts.
I was scrolling through my newsfeed a few days ago when I came across a tweet from a girl I went to high school with: “I get so scared walking to and from my car at night.” The majority of the "favorites" that the tweet received were also from girls, and I almost clicked the little heart button myself. My first thought was: Wow, this is so accurate. My second thought was: This needs to be addressed.
In light of the California Stanford rape case, where Brock Turner was convicted of three counts of felony sexual assault but sentenced to only six months in prison, I think it’s time we talk about rape culture. But I mean really talk about rape culture.
I knew exactly what that girl who had to walk alone to her car at night felt like when she sent out that tweet. I knew that she probably scurried to her car, clutching her keys and her phone as tightly as she could. I knew that she probably double and triple-checked around her to make sure no one was following her. I knew that she probably glanced in her back seat before starting her car and pulling away. I knew how she felt because I was taught to follow the same routine.
From a very young age, girls begin learning the same life lessons. It starts with: Don’t wear shorts above the knee, cleavage-bearing shirts or form-fitting clothing. And then we get a little older and we learn: Don’t go out at night, park in parking garages or take the stairs without a boy to protect you. And then, once we can drive and go out on our own: Make sure no one is following you or waiting for you nearby before getting in your car. And always — always — check your backseat.
Look around. This is rape culture; the fact that I have to worry about how I look at all times, or whether how I’m dressed will play a factor in a police report I might have to file if I’m alone at night. Rape culture is worrying if I’ll be viewed as a distraction at school or at work or at the store if I wear a tank top with straps less than two inches thick. Rape culture is Californian Judge Aaron Persky sentencing a rapist to jail for a mere six months because “a prison sentence would have a severe impact” on him, a rapist.
So when I saw that tweet and thought of all the people that mindlessly scrolled passed it without a second thought or gave that little heart button a quick tap as if to say, “ha ha, wow, this is so true” without doing anything about it, I stopped and thought:
This is rape culture.
