STFU, Rape Culture!

Help us stop this person fom profiting off of his mysogynist videos

Trigger Warning for slut shaming and mysogyny.

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The recent illustrations of Siri, the iPhone 4S voice-recognition based assistant, failing to provide information to users about abortion, birth control, help after rape and help with domestic violence has gotten a lot of notice. Yesterday’s post with screenshots from a Twitter conversation I was a part of has netted 200+ notes the last I looked.

There have been a number of arguments, three of which compelled me. The first was “why aren’t there screenshots?” Here, you have them, in spades. The second two:

“It’s just a phone, why do you expect it do all this?”
Siri can answer a lot of health related questions perfectly well, why shouldn’t we expect it to be able to answer reproductive health related queries too? Why treat reproductive health as a walled-off garden that the general public can’t or shouldn’t be exposed to? It’s not simply that in some places Siri has sent people to distant anti-choice fake clinics when they’ve asked where they can get abortions (and there are providers near to them) it’s also that in some locations (including mine) Siri refuses to disclose abortion clinic locations at all. Watch:

So even though there’s a clinic less than 3 miles from where I was sitting at the time, Siri couldn’t find one. Nor could Siri even define abortion. And note what’s missing: no offer to search the web. Usually when Siri can’t find an answer, there’s an offer to search the web for you, as I found when I asked about abortion counseling

So Siri won’t help me find where to get an abortion or search the web for me about it, but will search the web for me to find someone who will talk to be about abortion. Huh. Odd.

But what if I know the name of the clinic I’m looking for? What does Siri do then?

This particular clinic’s name is unique, so much so that if you simply Google “Allegheny Reproductive” you find it, first result. (The website is alleghenyreproductive.com) But Siri is stumped. Not so with other businesses that you provide a full name for, such as:

South Hills Hardware isn’t actually the name of the Hardware store, it’s South Hills True Value Home Center. But that didn’t stop Siri!

But how about if we get a little more specific? City names, or even street names attached to the full and proper names of the other abortion providers in Pittsburgh?

Well, maybe the problem is that Siri just doesn’t have a good index of locations in Pittsburgh? No, I don’t think so.

And as has been discussed elsewhere, it’s not just abortion. It’s birth control. You know, that stuff that 99% of American women will use in their lifetimes. (More common than gyros for certain.)

No birth control clinics to be found. Okay, two questions are raised: why is Siri’s response to the keywords “birth control” mapping to a search for birth control clinics to begin with? Second: why, again, is there no option to search the web? If you search the web, incidentally, for “birth control clinic Pittsburgh” guess what you get?

And if you search, more meaningfully, on Google for your express need, it’s simple to see where you should go:

Siri can’t help in a situation where you need emergency contraceptives, either, a situation that is very time sensitive and when a person might want the app that’s being used to sell their phone, branded as a convenience device that’s meant to save your time, energy and provide what you need at the speaking of a sentence, to be able to help. Here’s Siri’s take on EC:

Now it might be reasonable to think that “emergency contraceptive” means “emergency room” because that’s where emergencies go. But it’s not helpful. EC is available over the counter to adults, at any pharmacy (that’s willing to stock/dispense it). You don’t need or want to go to an ER for it. So while the thinking is clear, it’s wrong. And what happens if you ask for EC by it’s more colloquial name?

And what if you ask for EC by its brand names?

Siri can’t recognize “Plan B.”

And Siri believes that “Plan B One Step” is a company, and provides a stock report. I’m not sure what PLB.AX is but it can’t help me to not get pregnant.

But maybe the issue is that Siri just doesn’t understand the names of medication or where one goes to get medication. That could be beyond Siri’s programming. That’s possible, right?

Nope.

Overall, Siri is really limited here. There is no legitimate reason that inquiring about a business by name and with the name of the street on which its located (to a device that can pinpoint your location within meters and can use it as a starting parameter for a search) should get a response of “can’t be found” with no option to search further. There’s really no reason why it should be handling birth control requests the way that it does, and no reason why the same keyword searches on these topics give results on Google (or any other general search engine) and nothing on Siri at all.

Another objection I saw was along the lines of “Why would you use Siri if you were raped or beaten by your husband?
This is pretty obvious to me: maybe because if you’re hurt badly, all you might be able to do is hold down one button and say what happened to you. Nevertheless, if Siri can understand “I broke a tooth” and direct you to a dentist:

Or knows what to do if you’re simply “hurt”:

Then there’s no excuse for her to be a smartass about serious violence:

At least somewhere in the mix of rape-related inquiries and resultant snark, Siri did sneak in an offer to search the web for me.

Note, however, that Siri does know what rape is, as demonstrated by this query and response:

Why the programming treats that inquiry that way (and can’t find PAAR which is 1.5 miles from where I sit) I do not know. This would be a great time to list those ERs, or perhaps even law enforcement, but apparently rape is just sexual abuse, never a medical or legal issue? I can’t begin to understand this thinking.

Is this the most terrible programming failure ever? No. Is this worth a boycott of Apple? I don’t think so. What it is, however, is a demonstration of a problem. Especially when certain topics seem to be behind a black wall where information that’s readily available online is not being “found” or presented. This is something that Apple and/or Wolfram Alpha need to address and rectify.

People have suggested that this about a lack of female programmers. I don’t think it is. One doesn’t have to be female to know that if you’re going to provide your customers with the benefit of the doubt that they’re adults and will give information on where to buy condoms, beer, the names of local escort companies and “tongue in cheek” locations for hiding a dead body, you should provide information about health clinics, especially when customers know their full names and basic locations. I don’t think you need females on your programming staff to know that a person can go to an ob/gyn for birth control, not just a “birth control clinic.” I don’t think that it’s necessary to be female to know that rape is a violent crime and that a rape victim will need a hospital and/or the police before they need a “treatment center.” This isn’t just about gender. This is about something more esoteric and far far less simple to explain.

Word.

(via faded-as-my-jeans)

It is difficult to believe that such a widespread violence (that girls twelve years old in the United States now stand a twenty to thirty percent chance of being violently sexually assaulted in their lifetimes) is the responsibility of a small lunatic fringe of psychopathic men. That sexual violence is so pervasive supports the view that the locus of violence against women rests squarely in the middle of what our culture defines as “normal” interactions between men and women. The numbers reiterate a reality that American women have lived with for years: sexual violence against women is part of the every-day fabric of American life.

Allan Griswold Johnson (via sarahjune)

(via faded-as-my-jeans)

[TW rape apology, rape culture denial] The New Rules of College Sex - Philadelphia Magazine →

This was sent my way by aegansley.

This article almost feels like a caricature. I mean, if I had to write a mock up of what rape apologists say, it would be this exact article. It’s that bad. There doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to list all the things wrong with this article, but here’s a good start:

WHAT ABOUT THE MEN!
Having guidelines for dealing with sexual assault limits young people’s freedoms to explore in college.
Several more paragraphs about how being expelled for sexual assault will ruin THOSE POOR BOYS’ futures!
Temple University claims to have had 9 sexual assaults over a three year period so all statistics quoted about rape on college campuses are fabricated.
The Justice Dept’s figure of 1 in 5 female college students being sexually assaulted is bogus because the researchers asked them if they had experienced “unwanted sexual contact” rather than the survey being one question which I guess just would have said ARE YOU A RAPE VICTIM?
“I have a college-age daughter. I tell Sokolow that if she got drunk and had sex with someone, I’d jolly well expect her to take responsibility.”
Not using victim blaming programs means, “The government knows what works, but won’t let you do it.”
“There is something insultingly infantilizing about the Obama administration’s approach. You can’t possibly protect yourselves, the government is telling our daughters, so we’ll teach the men around you to protect you instead.”
She’s a second wave feminist and none of the times she was ~~raped~~ woke up next to some dude she didn’t know were assault, so she knows what she’s talking about.

Feminism: you’re doing it wrong. Actually, you’re doing parenting wrong, too. And journalism. And life. I haven’t commented on the article yet because I am too gobsmacked to think beyond, “Hey, what’s your daughter’s name so I can send her a fucking sympathy card?” Comments on this article are also disgusting. If you have the stomach, please comment on the article and/or write to whoever is higher up than her.

[TW FOR RAPE CULTURE, TRANSPHOBIA, MISOGYNY]

punkgeniusbillionaire:

Notice I have not blocked out his name because honestly I could give two flying fucks about his privacy at this point. See this douchebag? He thinks that joking about rape is funny. I called him out on it and he got mad. This is where the conversation went from there:

Nicholas Swota youre decent? Lol. You arent even happy with your own gender. Good choice of words though. And thats not why your over emotional. Youre just steriod crazy so i wont hold it against you.

James Norman Taylor-Shaw My own gender? I am very happy with my own gender. My gender is male and only a wuss would try to use that shit against me. Steroid crazy? I am on a very controlled dose of testosterone, not steroids. I do not have roid rage. You need to seriously grow the fuck up. How old are you now? 24? Like honestly? Isn’t it about time you got a life? At least I have a life and a girlfriend who loves me who I dont need to force to stay with me and scare into staying with me.

Nicholas Swota i didnt read more than the first sentence. You are a girl. Get over it.

Nicholas Swota ask the tranny who jumps in everyones conversations and blows up a joke about some dead bitch.

James Norman Taylor-Shaw I’d love you to say that to my face bro, just because I’m comfortable being different doesn’t mean you can bring me down because of it. Yes - everyone, I am transgender and proud. I was born female bodied and transitioned physically in order to be comfortable in my skin. My brain is male. My body now resembles that. Call me a tranny all you want, Nick, because in the long run you’re the one who looks like an idiot here.

Nicholas Swota i wont restrict myself. Im not ignorant cunt. Go talk to someone you know. Beat it.

James Norman Taylor-Shaw Nick - I know -statusowner-. This is his status. This is facebook, this is public, I can be here if I want.

Nicholas Swota good for u jt. I read none of that one. Your shitty opinion doesnt interest me. Thank u -otherperson-. Because i was indeed joking and since morals are opinions im allowed to joke about rape and its just fine. So. Pet my poopy.

Who the hell in their right mind says “Pet my poopy” as an insult. Honestly? He’s like 24 or something and is super immature. The kid needs to get a life. I needed some place to rant, sorry but it’s just so fucked up that he thinks rape is SO hilarious. I really.. if I ever see him in public he’s done =]

This has got to be one of the worst fbook convos I’ve reblogged. Kudos to you for keeping your cool when talking to him. What a horrible, ignorant, misogynistic scumbag.

[Trigger Warning for rape apology, slut-shaming, victim-blaming, misogyny] Seriously though, →

This post was submitted to me by wishingthehoursaway, who said, “I just think something needs to be said and I’m NOT articulate enough!” I’m guessing this was in reference to fnarflefuck. I checked out his blog and he seems like an obvious troll. A lot of others have already reblogged and took him to task, so I’ll keep my comments brief in regards to that dude. Being a troll, his comments are extremely triggering, as are those made by the last commenter.

trickyspades:

fnarflefuck:

regalmountain:

fnarflefuck:

If you are being a cocktease and dressing like a slut, you are probably going to get raped at some point if you’re not desperately unattractive. Literally everyone who is all “omg tell rapists not to rape dont tell us 2 change we want 2 show are bodiez and express r selfs”.

Shut the fuck up you…

This made me feel sick. First of all, “being a cocktease” and “dressing like a slut” are not excuses for men to behave like animals. They are also not excuses to commit federal crimes. True, it may be harder for a man to control his attraction to a girl if she is dressed attractively, but he should hopefully have enough self-control to keep his cock in his pants and away from her UNWILLING body. Another interesting point is that women who do not “dress like sluts” or act like a “cocktease” are raped as well. Even women that you might deem “desperately unattractive” are raped. Frankly, it is completely the fault of the rapist. The woman has very little to do with it. It shouldn’t be necessary for a woman to change her behavior in order to feel safe from aggressive, sexual attack.

Maybe telling men not to rape women is ineffective. Maybe they have truly passed the point of being reasonable on their own. However, I personally will never stop saying that rape is wrong, and that men should use their strength for good, not for forcing themselves on women. I don’t care if it’s effective. Rape is terrible. It is damaging in so many ways, on so many levels to victims.

Also, your lion analogy is not very good. Dressing a certain way and flirting is not really comparable to putting oneself in an unusual and obviously dangerous situation involving wild animals. Also, men are not wild animals, and should not act like them.

I hope that you can control yourself enough when you are around women. I would hate to see something someday that involved you being unable to keep yourself in line enough to resist forcing yourself on someone who happened to be dressed or acting in a way that you found attractive.

Right, so because I think women shouldn’t tempt men that are already sexual predators to prey on them, I am a rapist. Give me a fucking break.

Well, you aren’t yet but you seem like you may be on the way!

Oh, and there’s nothing “attractive” about dressing provocatively. What a complete fucking retard you are.

Ableism. Slut-shaming. Shut the fuck up.

Also, what is it with you third-wave feminazi retards that makes you think ALL MEN ARE JUST RAPISTS WAITING TO HAPPEN. What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you think that anyone that isn’t seriously mentally unwell, or at least inept, is going to go around raping people? Get a fucking grip, you fuckwit.

Not all men, mostly just you at the moment.
Most rapists do not have any diagnosed psych issues. Most people with psych issues are non-violent and certainly not rapists. So yes, I do think that.
Ableism and the equation of feminists with people who committed the genocide of six million people. Keep the argument classy, dude.

Edit: In all seriousness though, what none of you are recognising is this:

It doesn’t MATTER if you think you shouldn’t change. The harsh reality is you have to, because if you don’t, some sick pervert is going to stick his festering cock in your ass, and that is the reality of it. Being offended by the idea that you should, I dunno, stop being a fucking slut around people who have no business seeing your parts in the first place, is just childish and indicative of you being a narcissist moron.

If you don’t understand that there is no need to continue this conversation.

Thanks for the education, random dudebro trolling on tumblr. I find the belief that I have control over my own body, what clothing I wear on it, which people I choose to show it to, etc, to be neither childish nor narcissistic. Do you think if you walk around in clothing someone else finds appealing, they have the right to rape you? Shut the fuck up with your slut-shaming bullshit, really.

after reading all these posts, i have a couple things to say toward both sides:

1. dressing provocatively should in no way, shape or form strike someone as an invitation for rape. the body is over sexualized because it’s viewed as something that should be kept private. with sexual freedom comes social awareness. this is why muslim countries, for instance, have a higher rate of rape crimes than we do here in the western world. it’s a common misconception that women in the western world are raped because they dress provocatively when in actuality, sex crimes are less common in our society because we have a more open outlook on sexuality and the human body. so i don’t think we should all cover up and become blushing nuns because that to me, is going backward. sure, rapists aren’t going to stop raping people just because you tell them they’re at fault but likewise women aren’t going to stop dressing provocatively (am i spelling that wrong? it looks wrong) just because you tell them it tempts rapists. and both of those are beside the issue, really. one of these is a crime, and the other is not- with good reason. victimless crimes should be abolished altogether, and rape unfortunately does not fall into that category. walking around completely naked does not. sure, gross, whatever— i mean morals are subjective and everyones’ are different, that’s fine, but a victimless crime is not a crime at all imo.

2. to the other side:

you can’t say that rapists are sick and insane and then say they should have restraint. a lot of people don’t want to hear this but rape is a biologically driven act. if you ignore the fact that it’s biologically driven, how can you expect to put an end to it? only with education and liberty have we lessened the impact, but it’s still happening because it is biologicaly driven. you don’t have to be in any way defective in order to rape someone- there are a number of reasons: the uncontrollable urge to reproduce, the mental torment of powerlessness or even just (mostly in cases of date rape) the fact that you want something you can’t have. basically, we brainwash people into thinking rape is wrong.

Oh look ya’ll, rape culture denial via evolutionary psychology! There is no credible evidence that rape is an evolutionary adaptation. There are only vague, unsupported, unempirical claims made by evolutionary psychologists. Personally, I am inclined to agree with Amanda Marcotte, who said, “I have very little patience for the amorphous field of “evolutionary psychology,” which should be interesting in theory, but in practice tends to center around reinforcing retrograde gender roles with almost nothing in the way of substantive evidence or even logic to support its claims.” But if you don’t think Amanda and I are credible, here’s a good explanation on why the science behind this is basically non-exististent.

i hate to say it but rape is not wrong objectively- i don’t think it should happen either obviously because it contradicts my social ideals but nature is all encompassing and rape is a natural occurrence nearly everywhere you look in the animal kingdom. is it right? that depends on your ideals, just like dressing provocatively. i say it’s wrong because it contradicts mine. know where your morals come from, though. they aren’t objective, and you should always want to learn more about something you care about, even if it’s something you don’t like to hear.

Might want to take your own advice and you know, learn what you’re talking about before you spout off about rape being “not objectively wrong” and “biologically driven.” First of all, nature is not “all-encompassing.” Even if I was gullible enough to believe rape is a biological imperative, it would be completely irrelevant to the discussion of rape and rape culture within contemporary society. Even the most basic instinct like the need to survive, can be overruled. Human beings are not animals that operate purely on instinct. We have the ability of critical thinking.

The kind of moral relativism you’re describing is all well and good when you’re talking about individual decisions. But we live in a group setting, where we have mutually understood and agreed upon concepts of right and wrong, embodied by laws. In all situations where humans live in groups, some consistent rules apply to the group members, ie not murdering one another. I believe strongly that there are universal human rights and I think most people agree. Violation of those rights is objectively wrong. And bodily autonomy—the right to life, not to be enslaved, not to be raped, tortured, etc—is chief among those rights.

change starts with parenting and it’s up to us to raise our daughters to fight for themselves so that they won’t come out of everything feeling victimized. if i had daughters, they would be in martial arts - they would take weaponry courses - they would know how to say “fuck you” when it’s well deserved and they would be taught to fight for their rights to their own bodies. and even still, you aren’t going to win them all. sometimes you’re going to get raped anyway but you fight regardless. and of course, people say, “if you fight back, they might kill you!” so what? you could get hit by a bus right after this incident, i mean, nothing in life is promised. you fight anyway. if you can’t fight, you find weak spots to jab, kick, knee, elbow. if something comes near your lips, you bite and pull and don’t stop until you’re chewing on a chunk of their flesh. you guys think i’m joking when i say this stuff and i’m not, i’m dead serious. you never take it lying down, you always exact ownership over your own body, even if that means risking further injuries. you’ll feel a lot less helpless if you live than you would were you to just lie back and let it happen. trust me.

Sorry I had to trim your post a bit there but I think I got the crux of your victim-blaming bullshit intact. Advising people to fight back against attack no matter what and alleging they’ll feel empowered by it (and not, you know, dead or severely injured) is so completely irresponsible I just don’t even know what to say about it. Not trying to physically fight off your rapist is not the same thing as “letting it happen.” How fucking dare you sit on your computer and spew this victim-blaming bullshit? Nobody gets to tell anybody else how they should react during or after being raped. There is no right or wrong. No normal or abnormal. There is only doing what you can to survive. And that means something different for everyone.

Frankly, I’m glad you don’t have daughters so you can’t teach them this kind of crap. I hope you don’t have sons either, since apparently you won’t be teaching them a damned thing about rape.

(via theannaverse-deactivated2012031)

Glenn Beck Mocks Lawrence O'Donnell, Says Only 'Hookers' Need Planned Parenthood →

stfuconservatives:

stfuhatemongers:

supersoygrrrl:

speakgirl:

keepyourboehneroutofmyuterus:

la—-bella—-vita:

Welp. Ive needed Planned Parenthood more than once in my life, clearly I am a hooker.

No but is this guy serious? Hes a low life piece of shit who needs to burn and rot in hell.

This personally hurts my feelings.

I don’t know whether I should feel bad that hes apparently so willfully ignorant he doesn’t know wtf Planned Parenthood does or if I should feel scared that our pal Glenn here really has such contempt for women.

Glenn Beck is awful, a woman-hater, etc etc. It’s been said. The dude is just awful. Yes, if you are not having procreative sex within the confines of a Christian marriage, obviously you’re selling your body for money.

I’m troubled also by the implication that sex workers do not deserve care. Why should we fund it? It’s just for hookers. What a douche.

(via stfuconservatives)