Sexting, Shame and Suicide

[AniaR]

Rape culture is a real thing. I'm sad to say more than one of my family members is going through something similar to this article, and more than one of my friends. Also, one of the girls who died and was mentioned here is from my very small city. This is an important but a hard read. We don't really have to discuss it or anything, I'm just hoping people will read it and open their minds to what rape culture is and how we can stop it.

http://m.rollingstone.com/culture/news/sexting-shame-and-suicide-20130917/

[Mermaid Cecelia]

My heart just broke... And yet still the suicide or sex jokes continue, the insensitivity of our cultures nowadays is sickening... I personally have many friends who are in similar situations... It takes their experiences and support to keep me from it...

[Kae]

I just saw this video today and loved it. Seems like the perfect place to put it!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8hC0Ng_ajpY

[Mermaid Cecelia]

I just saw this video today and loved it. Seems like the perfect place to put it!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8hC0Ng_ajpY
This. Is. Brilliant.

[dandy113]

Oh god... Saratoga High?? I used to live nearby and I have friends who go there... I had no idea that sort of bullying went on in that community at all. That's just horrible.

[Mermaid Shayna]

"It's a sentiment shared by many parents around town. "These boys are not bad boys!" says the mother of a friend of one of the boys at the party. "They are goofy and silly. If there is a sleepover, one of the boys might put whipped cream on someone's hand. They are not malicious, mean criminals. This is costing their families thousands and thousands of dollars, and we are not all rich.""

I had to stop here. People were defending them! I mean even if it is a 'prank' or they think it's 'funny to write on a girl's vagina' they should know better! And the girls who thought the poor girl was in the wrong for getting abused, and the boys who probably thought the guys who abused her were 'cool' is just...
One girl brought up cuts on her wrist.
I go to a school where a lot of students have scars from their past on their wrists or shoulders. We have all been bullied, some worse than others. People say it's a 'special needs' school, they call it a SPED school. The students there know not to bring it up! I can't imagine anyone so heartless.

It just makes me angry that people don't understand. Yeah, of course she had problems! Everyone does! A girl being drunk is no reason to abuse her. Maybe they would understand if they knew how she felt, having to walk by girls jeering and having her friends turn on her!!!

Sorry about the rant, it's just that I had been bullied (not sexually though) for most of my elementary and middle school life. I was sent to the hospital for trying to commit suicide in sixth grade and I thought about it before that even!

What I'm trying to say is, if a person is mean, it hurts. Sometimes it hurts too much to continue living, and they think it's a joke!

Thank you for posting this, Raina, even if I'm not able to finish it. People do need to know this. People need to know how their actions affect others.

[Blondie]

This reminds me of this really great TED Talks I saw..


http://www.ted.com/talks/megan_kamerick_women_should_represent_women_in_med ia.html

[Winged Mermaid]

When I was in middle school you tried to "become cool" by wearing Abercrombie & Fitch, always having candy to give out, wearing lipgloss, and reading CosmoGirl. (By high school I realized what phony BS that was and had enough of my own problems not to care, so I can't really weigh in on high school.) It's unfathomable to me how we've gotten to this point.. where becoming cool is doing all those things described in the article. Drinking, wearing the most provocative clothing possible, sexting, bullying, even physical and/or sexual assault- all NORMAL. How is hurting another human being in any way- physically, emotionally, sexually, mentally, or spiritually- (other than for self defense) EVER okay?? I mean, I thought the emotional BS and physical violence of what I saw go on in my high school was way fucked up enough, and that's just the tip of the ice burg now. I just.. I can't understand people. Raising people to think this kind of thing is okay is raising them to be evil. There's seriously no other word for it. And our world is covered in it.