Article: Charlize Theron rape comment sparks outrage

Garyvdh said:
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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So what makes you an expert then?
 
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.

Isn't rape essentially a feeling of helplessness at something deeply personal being taken from you without your consent?

If so, I think her description is 100% accurate.
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Its forced, its a violation and it makes you feel horrible... and very often its sexual.

So ye... on some level I do think it can be compared to rape.
 
Ricard said:
Oxford dictionary on the origins of the word..


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)
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And I donated to the Touhoku tsunami relief. I guess that makes me an expert on tsunamis and their effects on people. Now I can confidently say, I feel like a resident of that region after just having my house destroyed and being told to evacuate and my children being missing, when a gush of wind blew down a banister on my balcony some time ago.

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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I would be because I'm a private figure. Charlize can become a private figure by withdrawing from celebrity life and maybe getting a regular office job.

The analogy does not hold. A more apt comparison would be if she had an obsessed stalker fan. But the media are part of Hollywood show business.
 
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Space_Chief said:
And I donated to the Touhoku tsunami relief. I guess that makes me an expert on tsunamis and their effects on people. Now I can confidently say, I feel like a resident of that region after just having my house destroyed and being told to evacuate and my children being missing, when a gush of wind blew down a banister on my balcony some time ago.



I would be because I'm a private figure. Charlize can become a private figure by withdrawing from celebrity life and maybe getting a regular office job.

The analogy does not hold. A more apt comparison would be if she had an obsessed stalker fan. But the media are part of Hollywood show business.
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Her boyfriend is baseball bat wielding wife beater and all round low life Sean Penn. Who knows what she's been through?
 
Spizz said:
Her boyfriend is baseball bat wielding wife beater and all round low life Sean Penn. Who knows what she's been through?
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If she makes a statement that as a victim of rape herself, she feels the same when abused by over zealous media that would be OK. Of course that form of solipism should still not be generalised.

Being an empowered multimillionaire woman in the West facing spousal abuse is not the same as being an average woman in the world who's just been raped.
 
Space_Chief said:
If she makes a statement that as a victim of rape herself, she feels the same when abused by over zealous media that would be OK. Of course that form of solipism should still not be generalised.

Being an empowered multimillionaire woman in the West facing spousal abuse is not the same as being an average woman in the world who's just been raped.
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Sure, the same as me getting slaughtered last night is not the same as Boko Haram slaughtering families in northern Nigeria.
 
If she has never been raped, then she has no idea what it feels like, but that doesn't prevent her from using it as a metaphor for violation.
Rape victims don't know what it feels like to be a stalked celebrity either.
 
What an interesting discussion.

Etymologically and historically the word rapine and thus rape does not refer specifically and exclusively to sexual violation, though that is the way most people encounter it (the word, that is).

How anyone can think she was using the word in anything but a metaphorical sense is beyond me.

I'm with Gary on this.

What incenses me is that the people who object to the actress's words claim to be "outraged". My goodness me. So touchy. One wonders, then, what reaction genocide would produce in them.
 
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Poor choice of words. Someone who actively speaks out against the rape of women should have known better than to liken the 'violation' of her privacy to rape. Yes, rape means a violation, but coming out of Miss Theron's mouth, in the manner she used it, it trivialises rape/the stripping of a man/womans dignity.
 
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There's a common factor between being raped and the level of A-list actor stalking by Paparazzi.

Violation of privacy / being stripped from your privacy

Sure they signed up for this when they took the job, but it does not remove the effect or consequence.
 
i think some people underestimate how soul-destroying it is to have people invade your privacy. anyone that disagrees, post your place of residence, cell phone number, place of employment here and say you like to fiddle with little kids/hate white people/are homosexual, and see how malicious and creative some people can be

the word rape refers to an act and other vicious acts
 
Arthur said:
What an interesting discussion.

Etymologically and historically the word rapine and thus rape does not refer specifically and exclusively to sexual violation, though that is the way most people encounter it (the word, that is).
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Historically, Arthur, I agree. However, Ms Theron was speaking colloquially in the contemporary US/UK.

How anyone can think she was using the word in anything but a metaphorical sense is beyond me.
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In a metaphorical sense it is inappropriate for many people. They have a right to state their objection. It's not like people are calling for her death sentence over this.

I'm with Gary on this.

What incenses me is that the people who object to the actress's words claim to be "outraged". My goodness me. So touchy. One wonders, then, what reaction genocide would produce in them.
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Do people claim this or is this just journalist speak for any type of objection laden with emotional content?
 
STS said:
i think some people underestimate how soul-destroying it is to have people invade your privacy. anyone that disagrees, post your place of residence, cell phone number, place of employment here and say you like to fiddle with little kids/hate white people/are homosexual, and see how malicious and creative some people can be

the word rape refers to an act and other vicious acts
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Sure but is this what happened to Charlize Theron? Or is what's happening to her part and parcel of what every celeb goes through. Has she been accused of child abuse or racism?
 
Arthur said:
Besides, there are degrees to these things. A venial violation is a violation nonetheless.
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Sure there are degrees. And as said while I also object to this I wouldn't take any action over this. People who object to this on MYbB have stated their cases. No-one is suing or ruining Ms Theron's life over this. She's just IMO exposed herself to be a narcissist. Her life is just as bad, according to her, as some woman in SA or India who gets raped. I wouldn't mind having her life and the baggage which goes with that, but if I did assume her life, I would know that I would targeted by the media and fans.

(Someone here pointed out her mom was abused, and someone else pointed out she worked with Rape Victim organisations. So she should know that real rape is not as trivial as the annoyance and anger or frustration with spying reporters.)
 
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Falco said:
There's a common factor between being raped and the level of A-list actor stalking by Paparazzi.

Violation of privacy / being stripped from your privacy

Sure they signed up for this when they took the job, but it does not remove the effect or consequence.
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There are common factors between being turned down for a loan by a bank and rape too, or between your boss telling you off despite you knowing you were correct. In that case the common factor is very trivial. We can all then say we're being raped and are suffering as rape victims on a frequent basis.

Ms Theron can end it all by withdrawing from the media limelight. It may take time for the reporters to leave her alone but it will happen.

And I have ZERO empathy for A list or similar celebs. They make huge amounts of money off this and enjoy those benefits. No-one is forcing them to do this. They get treated like royalty and can enjoy perks the common man will never experience. It's part of that. No media = no business = no yachts, cocaine, underage hookers, houses in St Tropez, etc. (Not saying Ms Theron enjoys or uses any of these, but just saying.) They also get treated better by the law in general.
 
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Space_Chief said:
Sure but is this what happened to Charlize Theron? Or is what's happening to her part and parcel of what every celeb goes through. Has she been accused of child abuse or racism?
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not at all, but people are willing to exploit her and harm her for their gain. the celebrity lifestyle and people climbing over your wall and scaring so they can get a photo of you are two different kinds of crazy
 
Space_Chief said:
There are common factors between being turned down for a loan by a bank and rape too, or between your boss telling you off despite you knowing you were correct. In that case the common factor is very trivial. We can all then say we're being raped and are suffering as rape victims on a frequent basis.

Ms Theron can end it all by withdrawing from the media limelight. It may take time for the reporters to leave her alone but it will happen.

And I have ZERO empathy for A list or similar celebs. They make huge amounts of money off this and enjoy those benefits. No-one is forcing them to do this. They get treated like royalty and can enjoy perks the common man will never experience. It's part of that. No media = no business = no yachts, cocaine, underage hookers, houses in St Tropez, etc. (Not saying Ms Theron enjoys any of these, but just saying.)
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now it feels like you're undermining "rape". you approach a bank, just as a woman approaches a man in a pub. extreme distress or damage to your emotional, physical or psychological well-being in a violent manner can metaphorically be compared to rape. attempted-rape is just as bad as rape, as is when someone invades your space or blackmails you.

it's like me trying to justify you receiving death threats simply because you post online
 
STS said:
not at all, but people are willing to exploit her and harm her for their gain. the celebrity lifestyle and people climbing over your wall and scaring so they can get a photo of you are two different kinds of crazy
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Everyone does that. If you're accused in court of something nasty, the media will also be all over you. In this world, (almost) everyone is trying to screw over everyone else much of the time. Any advertiser is lying to you by creating false memories of product use and marketers and politicians use psychology to get elected and so manipulate us. That's life. It sucks.
 
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