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Hamid Nawaz

2023-11-0149

Aqila zaman

Writing & Communication SS 100

October 22, 2019

Critique on Daryush Valizadeh’s article “How to stop rape”

Daryush Valizadeh, often referred to as ‘Roosh V’, is an American Blogger, a writer and

a pioneer in the pickup industry. He worked in the biomedical industry for a few years before

starting his career as a fulltime blogger on ‘DC Bachelor’. Valizadeh published his article ‘How

to stop rape’ in February 2016, which sparked heated debates on online forums across the world.

Since then, Valizadeh has been at the center of many controversies. He is proclaimed as a

misogynist and alt-right activist by public discussion forums like RationalWiki. In his article

‘How to stop rape’ Valizadeh proposes that rape should be made legal on private property. He

believes this will encourage women to be more careful and responsible about the kind of men

they interact with and men will finally be liberated from their concerns regarding consent in

sexual encounters. The article was originally targeted at the American population, but received

global attention. It remains relevant today because rape culture is prevalent across the world and

issues about the nature of consent still remain unresolved. Although the use of linguistic tools

helps create a legitimate appeal to his take, Daryush Valizadeh fails to establish an effective

claim for policy because his article lacks credibility, logical coherence, unbiased representation

of ideas and a formal tone.

Valizadeh starts off with the claim that in most cases victims know their rapists, and

explains that the tendency to rape is not ingrained in the biology of men. Valizadeh also
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criticizes the vague nature of laws surrounding rape and identifies the carelessness of women as

the root cause of rape culture. He then suggests that rape be made legal on private property to

ensure that women learn to protect themselves better and be more critical of the men they choose

to interact with. This would also eliminate any ambiguity surrounding consent, liberating men of

the struggle to interpret mixed signals. Valizadeh ends on the note that it is time women started

taking responsibilities for themselves like adults claiming that implementation of his suggestion

will guarantee this and eventually bring an end to the rape epidemic.

Issues with credibility arise from the very beginning when Valizadeh establishes the

paradigm for his argument. “This issue concerns me since I have a sister who I don’t want to be

raped” (Valizadeh “How to stop rape”) indicates that the writer's motivations are personal.

Instead of addressing the issue in a broader sense, the writer limits the scope of his perspective in

the reader's mind. Furthermore, Valizadeh makes numerous strong claims but fails to provide

any real support for them. The claim “women are not getting raped by violet offenders……they

are getting raped by men they already know, especially at college.” (Valizadeh “How to stop

rape”) is not supported by any statistical evidence or related research mention. Valizadeh also

fails to qualify the sources of his information. For example, specific sources within “Mainstream

Media” are not identified. Vague, unqualified phrases like “I also read” and “I learned that” add

doubts about the credibility of the author and his authority on the subject. The only sources of

information mentioned explicitly in the article are “articles on Salon, Buzzfeed, and Huffington

Post” (Valizadeh “How to stop rape”) for which exact titles and citations are missing for cross-

referencing by the reader. Moreover, these are examples of public discussion forums which often

feature biased controversial opinions as click baits, and rarely possess any analysis by certified
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field experts. Establishing credibility of sources by qualifying them as “future Pulitzer prize

winners” does not help Valizadeh’s cause either.

Faulty assumptions and fallacies in argumentation make the article logically incoherent.

Throughout the article, Valizadeh features chains of deductions which, at their very core, rest on

faulty assumptions. Claims like “women have been babied for too long” (Valizadeh “How to

stop rape”) and “we don’t hesitate to blame men for bad things that happen to them” (Valizadeh

“How to stop rape”) assume the reader’s opinions and values which directly call into question

the logical grounds of the argument. The author’s line of reasoning can then be imagined as

merely an illogically extended chain of thought. Moreover, Valizadeh confuses correlations with

causations. For instance, he claims that education of men about rape has led to women showing

irresponsibility for their actions. These two actions are not intrinsically linked yet the logical

fallacy of slippery slope portrays them as having a cause and effect relationship. In addition to

this, Valizadeh makes faulty comparisons which weaken the structural integrity of his argument.

The protection of one’s self for example, is not comparable to the protection of a material good.

Furthermore, for a topic as broad in nature as rape, the article comprises of numerous

oversimplifications and hasty generalizations. What possibilities does the suggested law open for

criminals? What about the professional relationships between men and women in private

properties? Can a door frame truly define an issue as subjective as consent? Why should only

women bear the burden of evaluation? Where does the accountability for men lie? These are

some of the big unaddressed questions that arise out of the implications of Valizadeh’s solution.

Strong, simplifying claims like “women will never enter a man’s apartment without accepting

that sex will happen” (Valizadeh “How to stop rape”) discount the variety of non-romantic

relationships that can exist between men and women. Relationships are subjective and dynamic;
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they cannot be compartmentalized like this. His suggestion is impractical because Valizadeh

does not consider the full range of variables involved around his claims.

The article is also biased in its representation of ideas. Valizadeh fails to feature the

beliefs and values of the opposing side of the argument. The bias manifests itself in the very

structure of the argument. It is ironic that an article about stopping rape does not talk about the

only party involved in the act by choice: the rapist. The entire article is focused on victim

blaming and preventing rape through precautions only without ever addressing the perpetrators.

In claims like “easily preventable with barely a strain of cognitive thought, awareness and self-

control” (Valizadeh “How to stop rape”) Valizadeh has only considered the issue from a single

lens. There is no reference to self-control of the rapists. Similarly, it is evident from repeated use

of phrases like “I don’t remember”, “I don’t know of a single” that Valizadeh has established his

argument from his own limited and biased perspective. Moreover, the author only talks about

rape committed on private property by male acquaintances of the victim. These parameters do

not fully address the topic of his article which comprises any and all kinds of rape.

Furthermore, the whole article has a non-serious undertone. In fact, on his website

rooshv.com, where the article was first published, Valizadeh describes his article as “a satirical

thought experiment” (Valizadeh “How to stop rape”). This seriously undermines the potential

effectiveness of the article because the reader anticipates a facetious attempt at argument and

therefore is unlikely to pay any real attention. Phrases like “Daddy Government” and

“Overweight feminist” are used to mock women throughout the article. Sarcastic remarks like

“the delicate flower she believes she is” (Valizadeh “How to stop rape”) show insensitivity

towards the victim of the very crime this article seeks to eradicate whereas the only group

Valizadeh sympathizes with are the rapists themselves. This logical inconsistency implies that
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the article was never written with a sincere intent. The strong and informal use of language

appears to be a ruse to attract attention and controversy.

Despite the aforementioned issues, Valizadeh is able to keep the readers engaged in his

argument. The comparison about the responsibilities associated with a drunk woman is sound

because the scenarios originate from a common ground: the women is intoxicated and unable to

make rational decisions. Through the use of analogies and comparisons like these, Valizadeh is

able to indulge his audience in critical analysis of the logical inconsistencies they may be

surrounded by. Similarly, following a series of deductions can be interesting, because they end

on a unique and thought-provoking outcome. However, it is important to note that these tools are

often appealing only when considered in a vacuum. Since they do not assume the indefinite

number of variables involved in the variety of possible scenarios, they cannot be considered at

face value or be used for generalizations.

All in all, Daryush Valizadeh fails to build an effective case for his recommendation.

He is unable to substantiate his claims with concrete reasoning or support. Although, Valizadeh

is able to create a stylistic appeal using linguistic tools, they do not add much weight to the

soundness of his argument. Instead of acknowledging and facing the opposing side on an even

ground, the writer hides behind mockery and abuse. On account of these factors, Valizadeh lacks

shrewdness in his profile as a writer and debater. In a time where social and policy debates

strictly revolve around mutual respect and recognition of multidimensional perspectives,

Valizadeh’s article does not have much authority or relevance.

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Works Cited

Valizadeh, Daryush, “How to stop rape”, RooshV, Culture, 16 February 2015, Accessed 21

October 2019. <https://www.rooshv.com/how-to-stop-rape>