cont: population of tumblr to tell them NOT TO RAPE WOMEN. That just because a woman has long hair or is on her cell phone that you should be able to rape her. I hate the world sometimes. Things are so fucking twisted.
I know that piece you’re talking about and it was proven to be made up (it was not actually put together by someone who had interviewed many convicted rapists, which was the purported explanation behind it).
Yes, victim-blaming sucks. Yes, it’s awful that women are told how to avoid getting raped more often than men are told not to rape. Yes, the only surefire way to avoid getting raped is to avoid being in the presence of a rapist, which isn’t something one can predict or prevent.
However, I still see the merit of learning some kind of preventative measures you can take. They won’t always stop it from happening, but they might make a person feel more secure and informed, which is good.
For example, I wouldn’t blame a woman if she wanted to carry around a can of pepper spray to protect herself. I don’t think she’s engaging in victim-blaming by wanting to do her best to keep herself safe. She may feel utterly powerless unless she has that pepper spray with her. And I’m never going to tell anyone to stop doing things that make them feel more empowered (as long as these acts don’t hurt anyone innocent, yadda yadda yadda).