Hate Rape

HATE. Perhaps the word is not used enough? I mean, hate has become a near palpable presence in the day to day living of the average South African. Whether it displays itself in the form of Xenophobia aka hate crimes against foreign nationals or racial incidents aka hate crimes against members of a different race, it seems that we are unable to go through a single day without being faced with ignorance in its purest form...aka hate. But of all the hate crimes (and believe me, there was an assortment to choose from) I have to name corrective rape as the Hate Heavy Weight Champion of the world.

I don’t mean to blame all the problems of the world on men, but there seems to be a correlation between the incline of the empowerment of women and decline of the respect for them. As women begin to embark on a quest for not only professional freedom and independence, but also (dare I say it) sexual freedom, more and more degrading images of women are being portrayed in visual media. Music videos don’t even have story lines anymore, there is merely a naked woman doused in baby oil making her enormous bum cheeks clap, needless to say Sarah Baartman would have had a lucrative career as a video vixen had she been damned to our times. *By the way, I say video vixen as a method of diplomacy, however I believe the correct term is video 'Ho' although I am not sure what the term for a male featured in a music video is.*

We have all had the pleasure of living in a rather patriarchal society; however the rigidity thereof does vary from culture to culture. There are grown women who have never gotten to choose which piece of chicken they would prefer to eat at dinner, but have rather been subjected to the awkwardness that is the chicken wing due to the constant presence of a man in their household. These are small yet subtle submissions that mostly go unnoticed. Who cares? No one is hurt, and the chicken wing is fashionable now, so if anything these women are trend setters right? Wrong!

Here's the thing about choice, it is supposed to be an exclusive right utilized by the individual as THEY see fit. No matter how small. 'No' is a muscle that needs to be exercised otherwise it will shrivel up and die giving way to the default; shrug and nod. How unfortunate most female 'No' muscles are battered into submission at the slightest sign of toning.

The debates of whether individuals choose to be homosexual or not are long and tedious ones which I refuse to engage in. Here is my stance; it doesn’t matter. Even if for some bizarre reason, someone would choose to be homosexual...it is their choice and theirs alone. So why is it that some men take the presence of a lesbian in their community as a personal rejection regardless of whether they know the woman in question or not? I'll tell you why, because how dare she?! How dare she choose another woman over a man? Over the flawless and prefect form of a man that is the ultimate giver of pleasure. "No matter how round and hairy the belly, no matter how exposed the butt crack...this, woman, is where your happiness lies."

The only justification for a woman choosing another woman over a man is; she has either never felt the pleasure of sex with a man or has been unfortunate in finding all the wrong men, but not to despair, a violent rape should be enough to get her playing for the right team. Language itself is problematic, the oxymoronic "corrective rape" should be more accurately called "Hate Rape" or perhaps all rape should be dubbed "Hate Rape" and sub-categorized accordingly for example, Hate Rape against Lesbians or Hate Rape against a minor. This would perhaps even shift the stigma from the victim to the perpetrator.

We as South Africans prefer to think of Hate as a stain in our past, however euphemizing the decaying parts of our society and shouting 'at least there is no civil war and famine!' doesn’t change the facts. Being raped on a full stomach doesn’t change the treachery and it doesn’t change the hate.