Article: Charlize Theron rape comment sparks outrage

killerbyte said:
I am sorry, but what she has experienced is not like rape.
Rape is the act of being forcefully penetrated or being forced to penetrate.
Stop being like every bloody feminist out there that tries to make rape the go to word when a woman feels a little unhappy. Unless someone is forced to have sex then it is not rape.
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I'm gonna go ahead and agree with Celine. It is utter devastation and CT hasn't experienced that.

Shït, I am at least not driving.
 
Lycanthrope said:
Is she wrong? The level of intrusion that celebrities experience in their private lives would make most people feel intimately violated--nude/seedy pictures of them on the internet, pictures of their children, private moments that shouldn't be in the public domain, etc.
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Most people are not celebrities. Celebrities, such as TV/film, music, fashion and other stars make their money through publicity. These intrusions go hand in hand with that, unfortunately. They get paid by the crowds they draw in. An A list actor draws in huge audiences and people buy their merchandise. The more famous, the more paid. That's part of the job. It's a bit like being a judge, and doing illegal things yourself, or dodgy things, which can bring your character into ill repute. It goes with the territory. However, if Charlize Theron decides to quit being an active celebrity, then yes, I will agree that the media should leave her alone.

Isn't rape essentially a feeling of helplessness at something deeply personal being taken from you without your consent?
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No. Rape is an actual physical assault involving but not limited to penile penetration of any body orifice. Feelings of helplessness need not occur, nor do any personal deep feelings need occur. A person need not suffer in the relevant sense and will still be raped.


If so, I think her description is 100% accurate.
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If by 100% accurate you mean only in the most trivial of ways then I agree. Seriously though, it's not accurate at all and makes a mockery of genuine sexual assault.
 
"I don't do that, so that's my saving grace. When you start living in that world, and doing that, you start I guess feeling raped."
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Unless she knows first hand what it feels like to be raped, she can only guess at it.

I think this goes beyond mere use of metaphorical language which itself can also be inappropriate, especially when made by celebrities. Anons and little people often get away with this and this context also frames whether what someone says is more or less inappropriate. When some anon posts it here for the consumption of a few people, it's different to an actual public person speaking to millions, a person who is imitated, admired, represents a brand or studio, etc.

Of course I wouldn't call her out on this or demand an apology. If I was a rape victim or a relative I may just avoid watching her next film, as I'd be reminded of her attitude, or maybe not, and maybe I'd be more forgiving - taking her for a poorly educated yet very talented actress she is.
 
koeks525 said:
I guess she was just trying to express the feeling of the media interfering with her life. Sadly, we got many people who take the smallest things so serious...making **** hit the fan, when its not needed.
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She took a rather small thing (by comparison, and especially for a public figure who acts nude or semi nude in front of millions), being photographed by the paparazzi, as something far far worse, an act of rape. So she's doing that too.

I'm actually pro the **** hitting the fan. Hollywood and its actors are usually very liberal. They need to also be held to PC standards.
 
Violated and abused, sounds about right.
That's kinda what the internet does best to celebrities.
 
"... rape comment sparks outrage"

Raises eyebrows? Sure. Anger? Perhaps for a few.

But outrage? That diminishes the word into triviality.

Public decapitations are an outrage. Bombs in public places are an outrage. The kidnap of the Nigerian schoolgirls is an outrage. The abuse of little children is an outrage. Waging an aggressive war is an outrage. Rape is an outrage.

But this little comment by a person who spends her life pretending to be something for the cameras?

I object to having outrage so reduced.
 
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Meanings of words change as we go through the times. This is just people not understanding that in todays culture, "rape" has changed in context from sexual crime to a way to express "dominance" or abuse.

Charlize is clearly using the word to attempt to describe her feelings. Perhaps a poor choice of words on her side, but it's a way of expression and hardly anything to be outraged over.
 
Garyvdh said:
Lolwut? Welcome to the English language. Go and Google for "rape of the Amazon forest" and tell us what you find.
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Thanks, i was on the fence about this, and then your metaphor made the situation clearer to me *Hats off to you good sir*

(no sarcasm intended)
 
[video=youtube;5oZpuY97i_k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oZpuY97i_k[/video]

You just can't win...
 
Necuno said:
Wonderful forward thinking. I mean if you wear a skirt it comes with the territory.
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This analogy is off. Celebs actually do market themselves and use the media to their own and their brands' benefit. A substantial amount of interest is generated by their antics. If people lost interest today, they'd lose many zeros on their salary cheques.

This in no way can be compared to wearing a skirt where a woman who wants to look attractive is marketing herself for sex under some circumstances only but not others. Unless you consider all forms of sex to be rape. She's not marketing herself for rape, rape fantasies of many women regardless.

If Ms Theron was stalked by an obsessed fan, the analogy could hold true. The media and usual public interest is not that however. It's part of show business.
 
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eltherza said:
Meanings of words change as we go through the times. This is just people not understanding that in todays culture, "rape" has changed in context from sexual crime to a way to express "dominance" or abuse.

Charlize is clearly using the word to attempt to describe her feelings. Perhaps a poor choice of words on her side, but it's a way of expression and hardly anything to be outraged over.
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She's using the term to describe the effect of the sexual crime. She's using it in the context of a woman who has just been raped - assaulted sexually. Not someone who was "raped by Telkom" or "raped by SARS". She could have said, "Gosh I felt like I was (financially) raped by the IRS!" That's not what she said. He meaning is more narrow and in the context of an Indian woman who may be raped every 22 min or the SA context where every 20 sec someone here is raped.

I'm just about ready to get a parcel from FedEx. I'm sure FedEx will rape me with fees. That's not the type of thing she said. She appealed to the genuine, held down, threatened, penis shoved into (wo)man event.

Also when you said meanings change above, do you perhaps also apply this to yourself. Meanings vary by context, culture, country and by setting. The people who are outraged by this also hold the modern meaning of rape and you can't simply say they're wrong. Apply what you said to yourself as well.
 
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ponder said:
[video=youtube;5oZpuY97i_k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oZpuY97i_k[/video]

You just can't win...
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I just can't take her seriously with that accent. A twang or something yes, but it makes me wonder where her head is if she can change it so completely.
 
eltherza said:
Meanings of words change as we go through the times. This is just people not understanding that in todays culture, "rape" has changed in context from sexual crime to a way to express "dominance" or abuse.

Charlize is clearly using the word to attempt to describe her feelings. Perhaps a poor choice of words on her side, but it's a way of expression and hardly anything to be outraged over.
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I don't think she's referring to the physical act of being raped, more the act of having her privacy violated and in the context, there's no real problem with the word.

I think people just want to make an issue out of it for the sake of selling news. Or perhaps the English language is just moving more towards a dumb down version where you can't harshly express things since it all has to be politically correct?
 
S1ght said:
I don't think she's referring to the physical act of being raped, more the act of having her privacy violated and in the context, there's no real problem with the word.

I think people just want to make an issue out of it for the sake of selling news. Or perhaps the English language is just moving more towards a dumb down version where you can't harshly express things since it all has to be politically correct?
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Yeah she's lamenting how k&k her life is. It's as k*k as the life of an Indian teenage girl who's just been raped. That's her sob story.

It is a poor choice albeit an honest one. It at least shows what a narcissist she is.
 
Arthur said:
"... rape comment sparks outrage"

Raises eyebrows? Sure. Anger? Perhaps for a few.

But outrage? That diminishes the word into triviality.

Public decapitations are an outrage. Bombs in public places are an outrage. The kidnap of the Nigerian schoolgirls is an outrage. The abuse of little children is an outrage. Waging an aggressive war is an outrage. Rape is an outrage.

But this little comment by a person who spends her life pretending to be something for the cameras?

I object to having outrage so reduced.
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I object to 'outrage' being used at all.

I think it may be a criticism of the people who are vocally opposed to her statement.
 
Oxford dictionary on the origins of the word..
Origin

late Middle English (originally denoting violent seizure of property, later carrying off a woman by force): from Anglo-Norman French rap (noun), raper (verb), from Latin rapere 'seize'.
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Charlize has been involved with Rape Crisis centres since 1999, I think she has a better idea that the majority of the people in this discussion. In SA, the celebs have no idea what level the Paparazzi will go through to take gossip snaps for. Those photographers are all prostitutes. (yes, go look up the meaning of prostitute)

If someone talked in front you taking pictures of you (Fred) and your kids and then the next day you say your face on the cover of HELLO with the caption 'Fred scratching his balls' - I am sure you wont just say 'Chill', you will be miffed.. you will feel violated. (aka - raped)
 
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S1ght said:
I don't think she's referring to the physical act of being raped, more the act of having her privacy violated and in the context, there's no real problem with the word.

I think people just want to make an issue out of it for the sake of selling news. Or perhaps the English language is just moving more towards a dumb down version where you can't harshly express things since it all has to be politically correct?
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Yep, PC is the real world version of Newspeak. When one group controls the dialogue around an issue they essentially ensure that there is no dialogue. In George Orwell's Nineteen Eight-Four a characteristic of Newspeak was a lack of metaphors.

Using something as a metaphor in no way deminutises that thing. Referring to a hat as mammoth in no way implies that mammoths were hat sized to rational people.
 
Some of you clueless violators of the English language are no more experts in rape than what she is. Armchair experts. Fact is... she was abused (her mother more so) by the dad when she was young. So yeah she knows what physical violation is.
 
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