Adelina Richards English 137 H Casey Wiley November 12, 2012 Blame it On the Girls The other night

I was picking out an outfit to go out to some frats, as is the usual pattern of many college freshman girls on a Friday night. But, as is also the norm, I wasnt sure exactly what to wear. I was really hoping to get raped that night, but was uncertain which skirt screamed, Take me now! and not Id rather you ask first. I mean, it had been a rough week, so I needed to get totally wasted. When Im totally gone, I cant help but flirt a little bit. I mean I know boys can be a little oblivious, but I dont see how I could be any more obvious. Yes, go ahead and reread that paragraph. You are absolutely allowed to be completely and utterly confused. Did she really just say that? Oh yes she did. Rape is a word we hear so often, we almost always tend to tune it out. However, when its casually thrown into a conversation in that context, you cant help but do a double take. If I could get you to be just a little taken a back while youre sitting somewhere reading a horde of papers, just imagine watching a similar scene play out in the middle of a Penn State Football game? A very similar scene played in an ad from Switzerland during a Brazil World Cup game. This ad forces its audience to face some serious facts by completely destroying the idea that a girl can be blamed for getting raped. To do this, a unique story was told to capture the attention of the viewers, and force them to care about something theyve heard about a million times. A young man watches a beautiful blonde as she flirts endlessly with a random man at a bar. He then turns to his friend and slyly

comments, Check out that skirt, shes asking for it. His friend chuckles in agreement. The scene shifts to the same girl shopping for the skirt in question earlier in the day. A sales clerk asks if she needs help with anything, and the girl replies that shes looking for a skirt that will get a man to have sex with her against her will, because she wants to get raped later on in the evening. The sales clerk doesnt blink an eye and immediately retorts that the shiny blue skirt is definitely the best choice, as if this were a totally normal question. The girl then swiftly looks straight at the camera, and directly challenges the audience to consider this an actual possibility. The scene then cuts to a background comprised of shiny blue sparkles, signifying the skirt that caused her rape. Suddenly, typed words appear on the screen, No one asks to be raped. After a pause, a voice then adds, Ever. This seems a little deep for a commercial in the middle of a major sports game. Take a minute to imagine this scene. You can clearly picture young men sitting around a couch drinking cold beers and yelling angrily at a TV screen, aka masculinity in its prime. Then suddenly a girl is basically accusing each and every man in the room of rapeawkward. Every advertisement, from the Geico gecko to leggo my eggo, has an intended audience. But when I think of sports, the first thing I think of is most definitely not rape. Weve all heard the classic, our society teaches dont get raped, not dont rape, but maybe the reason we hear it so much is because its so true. This one ad is saying to men, hey man, I know shes hot and looks like she wants it, but just dont do it. A lot of men see the slutty woman at the bar, but very rarely do they see the innocent girl at the mall shopping for a cute skirt. This ad provides an acute inside scoop of what really goes on inside a girls head, and it is in no way, shape, or form a desire to get sexually assaulted. Hence, the advertisement seems to spread this reasoning to not just those who could become

potential rapists, but also any who would blame a girl for getting raped based on her clothing and actions. The victim should know better than anyone what she wants, so who is a random passersby to say they know her true thought process better? The girls authority shows that the argument that she is to blame is utterly invalid. Although this may seem vague, her confidence seems to hold even more authority than the facts and figures that usually accompany these types of ads. Science cant tell you how to feel, data cant read minds, and when that girl looks into the camera and says AS IF there is no doubt who has the credibility in the situation. The girl almost blames the people who think this way for her rape. Is it logical to think a girl would intentionally go out to buy an outfit that would get her raped? No. Think about the exact definition of rape: if she wants it, then isnt it consensual? Therefore, the definition of rape is demolished if the victim is blamed. With this idea crashing down, how can the audience help but feel a little stupid for even considering she was to blame? Thinking this way has made it almost ok to rape someone, and this ad tries to fight against these views in order to erase the social stigma that has surrounded the topic. It calls to women to speak out, because no its not your fault. You were not too drunk, you did not flirt too much, and your skirt was not too short. No one asks to be raped, not ever. Still, the sad truth, no matter how shallow it may be, is that people judge others on their appearance. Its the reason why women are often blamed for their rape, and also why many ideas of rapists are horribly skewed. If you hear about a male teacher having sex with a fifteen year old girl, youre immediately disgusted, but if I told you a sixteen year old boy had sex with his super-hot history teacher you think, Good for him! Nonetheless, both are cases of statutory

rape. Similarly, when many think of a rapist they think of an ugly greasy man who cant get any without forcing himself on some poor girl, and we envision the girl as a very attractive girl with curves in all the right places. Even though these stereotypes are far from the truth, the ad plays off them in order to paint a picture the audience can relate to more. In this way, it is easier to see the girl as a victim and the rapist as a criminal. Of course, there are many other topics that could be explored in this ad, but I chose to focus on a few key points due to the length allotted for this essay. For example, it is important to remember that society teaches a dont get raped mentality for a reason. It is vital that you protect yourself and stay safe, since you can only control your actions and not the actions of others. The ad does not put this idea down, it doesnt even mention it. It may also be interesting to explore the fact that the ad seems to only use short, choppy syntax, perhaps reaching out to a younger audience to increase their understanding and keep their attention. In fact, the actual word rape is only used twice, and saves it for the very end of the advertisement. The may be in order to get the audience to actually pay attention to the ad instead of writing it off as another ad about rape. The significance of actually typing out the final phrase, and waiting to add the word ever should also be examined. The ad is obviously made to evoke strong emotions, but what exactly are those feelings are, and how they could be targeted to the ads specific audience are intriguing questions as well. When I first stumbled upon this ad while looking up funny posts on tumblr, I could do nothing but stare blankly at my computer screen. For me, the ad had served its original purpose and had made me look at an issue I had thought I knew a lot about in a totally new light. It forced me to face some serious facts by completely destroying the idea that a girl can be blamed for getting raped. I had never looked at a girl wearing a tight skirt (a not so rare site at State College)

and immediately assumed she wanted to get raped, and yet I knew there had been instances of sexual assault Ive heard of where I couldnt help but think that if the girl had been more careful it wouldnt have happened. Since watching this ad, I havent caught myself thinking that, although I still walk a little faster when Im walking home at night ready for that imaginary rapist to come at me. This ad isnt going to change the world, but one by one, it can definitely change the way we think about rape- which is a major step in the right direction.