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We Saw Your Rape
It's been a few months since Seth MacFarlane's "We Saw Your Boobs" song received applause at The Oscars. The song, which has been widely called a sexist and immature attempt to draw attention to various actresses who have been seen topless in movies, earned Seth an invitation to host The Oscars next year.
You may remember laughing as Seth rattled off the names of the actresses whose boobs he’s seen in movies. You may remember thinking it was a harmless joke.
I remember it differently. I remember Seth’s song as appalling. I'm not appalled just because of the sexism and the immaturity. I'm appalled because the song joked about nudity in three rapes from The Accused, Boys Don't Cry, and Monster.
The Accused is based on the real gang-rape of Cheryl Araujo. In the movie, we see Jodie Foster's boobs when her rapists tear her shirt apart and expose them.
Boys Don't Cry is based on the true assault (and later murder) of Brandon Teena. Hilary Swank portrays Teena, who is assaulted in a car trunk. We see her boobs during a hospital exam after her vicious assault. Her breasts are covered in bruises. When the doctor tries to examine them, Hilary Swank winces in pain.
Perhaps the most infamous of the three movies joked about is Monster, based on the true story of Aileen Wuornos. In the movie, we see Charlize Theron's boobs when she is examining them in a mirror after a horrific and violent assault that has left her body bruised and swollen.
Seth MacFarlane chose to summarize all of these horrendous assaults in one sentence: "We saw your boobs."
Seth smiled as he rattled off the names of actresses who portrayed real rape victims. The audience laughed and applauded as Seth joked about a woman's shirt being ripped apart by her attackers, as he joked about a woman flinching in pain as a doctor examined her after a horrific assault.
And now? Now we're inviting Seth back to do it all again next year.
I'm disgusted that this twisted "humor" is condoned, defended, and applauded. It would be one thing if this were simply a sexist song about revealing moments in movies. It's quite another when you include rape in this worthless schlock.
Imagine being a rape victim watching Seth MacFarlane's song. Imagine hearing people laugh at women like you being swollen and coated in black and blue bruises. Imagine seeing people smile at a woman's breasts being ripped from her clothing by her attacker, perhaps like what happened to you. Do you think rape victims find this funny, that they enjoy watching people laugh at nudity during vicious rapes? Do you think they smile as they're reminded of the most horrific moment of their lives?
We all need to do some serious self-reflection. Is this really what we should be applauding? Is this really funny?
In the United States, someone is sexually assaulted every 2 minutes. Only 15 out of 16 rapists ever spend a single day in jail. Maybe it's time we take "jokes" like this seriously. How can we end the violence if we keep laughing at it?
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This article has 4 comments.
Frankly, I'm offended that anyone can chill out while 15 out of 16 rapists never spend a day in jail. I'm offended that anyone can chill out when every 2 minutes, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted. 44% of those assaults are against children.
I will not "chill out." I will never "chill out" if chilling out means not standing up against the degradation of rape victims during a major national television broadcast.
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