11/17

Today we did TED talks to present our papers.
Jamie went first and talked about her book, Telling which focused a lot more on her life after rape, consent laws were a big issue as they were seen as more of a joke. Her author didn't have much patience so she tried a bunch of different ways to get over it. She had a lot of fact dumps that were actually wrong facts, skewing facts to make it sound like the United States is worse off than it is. Her publication was very biased and made the story out to be biased.

Lateah went next and had Surviving the Silence, which included 8 stories by women of color about rape. A lot of the stories were these women retelling everything that happened to them and then the author would respond to these women. The book was written in a way that was written almost fictional style, but does a good job to add emotion to the story. The rape took place in 1983 and her case happened less than a year later. Two men broke into her home who were looking for money, they harassed the husband and son, made them go upstairs. Told her to take her clothes off, both men raped her and told her to be quiet because "she wouldn't want her husband to hear her and find out what she was doing". Only one man was sentenced (30-60 years in prison for multiple accounts of rape and assault), they couldn't find the other man. She did get to testify against the one man in court which helped the healing process. She talks about how women of color are one of the most underreported groups for rape. They feel like they are "race traitors" and putting black men behind bars for raping them. "It is like they have to put their racial identity above their identity as a woman, they are being forced to chose".

Jackson went next and had One Hour In Paris written by a philosophy professor, happened in 1990 when she was traveling through Europe with family and friends. Went to Paris to spend time with her on/off boyfriend, his mentor and the mentor's lover Robert. Boyfriend and mentor went to dinner, Karen and Robert were left alone, Robert had too much wine and tried to seduce her and she said no, he ended up raping her at knifepoint twice. He tried to kidnap her and walked her out of the building, let go of her a little bit at front door of building and she escaped, people in building helped her, he ran. Cops were extremely useful went looking for him, evidence, getting her statements and believing her, arrested mentor and boyfriend for questioning. She left France but had to go back for hearing trial and sentencing trial, he got six years in jail, she went back home to Canada. Said she wouldn't let her define her; however, it made her very paranoid in relationships, she had PTSD and panic attacks because of all of this and she didn't realize it until she shared her story with her then boyfriend. Talked a lot about therapy was good for her and that she thinks many people should go through it if they need it. Happened from a stranger, involved alcohol, and she was a woman so it was an "acceptable" case, said it was a problem of patriarchy. She told him no, she wasn't drinking, he did this because he thought he had an authority over her body. Societal problem not individual problem.

Next was me!

Next was David, Michael, and John on Perfectly Broken. Amber tells her brother the story about the rape that happened to her by a stranger, who asked her for directions, kidnapped her, forced her to take her clothes off, and raped her. She gets out of the car, runs to a house to get help, the mom in the house calls the police to help her. She uses a lot of God references, and eventually goes to Spain. Her healing process is the main focus of the book and Spain is where this really happened. She stopped fearing men and began to see them as attractive again. Trial happens, he was accused of rape and sentenced to prison. She ends up getting married and having a baby ten years later. Book was heavily focused on what happens afterwards. Transition from victim to survivor, her writing was her method of recovery, supposed to motivate readers that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Heavily religious.

Next was Anna, her book, Denial was about a woman who was raped the same night as her sister, when she was 15 and sister was 14, in 1973. The two girls were doing homework and a man came in and raped them, to protect her sister she told him to take her and he ended up raping both of them. He took emotion from her which allowed her to not be afraid of interviewing terrorists which she later writes books about. When she was questioned by the police she had no emotion in telling it. She starts investigating her own rape case, the rapist was never caught, they weren't believed because "things like that didn't happen here". She denies that her rape happened, she forgets everything, even the statements she made as a kid. She denied it for over twenty years.

Next was Haley and Shalynn, they read Lucky a story about Alice who was 18 when she was raped. She was walking home from a friend's house going through a park, her rapist jumped out of the bushes, grabbed her, threatened her with a knife, she battled with him for 15 minutes, he dragged her to a tunnel and raped her violently. She was a virgin at the time and he shoves his fist in her, forces her to give him a blow job, urinates on her. He was a younger black man, he would have remorse "i'm sorry, you're a good girl" hugs her goodbye but then takes her money. Her RA asked if she was okay, her roommate was passed out so she couldn't get in, tells RA to call police. Everyone in dorm watches her get strapped into ambulance and taken, police tell everyone "get out of the way, she just been raped". Talks about how she was the oddball of the family and she didn't get much love from her parents. Her strength was noted multiple times. She was in denial, tried to kill herself, didn't succeed, was told she was lucky. She goes through her trial which goes good. After the conviction, she falls into the role of "survivors guilt", she felt like she needed to be stronger and didn't wanna deal with it for the next 10 years. Does heroine and drugs, writes for NY Times so successful, but her life was a mess. Ends up moving to Cali and gets clean, talks about how "hell and hope" exist in the same plane and she finally chooses to be lucky. Important to her to use the word "rape" not "what happened to me" or "it happened", use the word.

Jace had a story about a student being groomed and raped by her teacher for many years. She had an abusive relationship with her father. She didn't have many friends so she latched on to Mr. Baker and he would ignore her as a part of the grooming but eventually gave her an A on exam and she got his attention. He would groom her and then he would drive her home and giving her gifts, they had a "relationship" that went on until she was in college. The mom went to the school and told her to stay away from her daughter. When she was a junior in high school he stopped giving her gifts and being nice, he would question her and rape her, he had her brainwashed. In her masters program she formed a group of friends and they had her cut off the relationship with Mr. Baker, she knew she had a gut feeling that is was wrong. Multiple other girls came out and pressed charges against Mr. Baker, and it had happened to late after her case for her to testify. He only got 23 months in prison but had to register as a level 3 sex offender and can never teach again.

11/10

Today in class Lateah went over her book, about Anna Stubblefield, a woman who was accused of raping a disabled man named DJ. In her case, Stubblefield was a professor the family asked to help with DJ, who had cerebral palsy. Stubblefield claimed the two were in love, even though DJ couldn't talk and functioned at the mental capacity of a toddler. She claimed the relationship to be consensual, and that she knew DJ wanted it, raping him on the floor of her campus office. Once the family found out what was happening they were horrified and immediately prosecuted the Rutger's employee. Stubblefield was a mother and was married, and ended up receiving 12 years in prison, with 10 having no option of parole.

Looking at this case we see a bunch of issues happening all around it. Brought into the case was the fact that Stubblefield was white, and DJ was black. This is significant, because had it been the other way around, the issue here would have most likely sparked more controversy based on past cases. There aren't many cases similar in nature to this case, as it is quite an odd circumstance.

The rhetoric of this case is very unique, as Stubblefield's main claim is that the two were in love, even though DJ couldn't ever speak to tell Stubblefield he loved her. This is unlike our usual cases, which typically involve alcohol or strangers wanting power. This is a woman desiring power over a man, claiming to be in love with someone she had said she was going to help. The entire case is interesting and a case I have yet to read anything similar to. Lateah did a great job reporting the facts on this and informing us of how it works in the rhetoric of rape.

11/8

Today,
Jackson started the discussion with his book, "One Hour in Paris", about Karyn Freedman, who was spending time in Paris. Book was published in 2014, but rape happened in late 90's. She was in Paris with her boyfriend, the (male) mentor, and the mentor's male lover (Robert). Robert kept pushing drinks on the girl and then became sexually aggressive with her. She left the room and then was trying to leave to head to a cafe, but when she tried to leave, Robert raped her at knife point and threatened to kill her if she tried to leave or scream or said anything. Raped her orally, vaginally, anally. When he was done she put her clothes on and tried to leave, he ended up raping her again. He then had the knife in his jacket and his arm around her neck, took her out of the apartment, and then right when they were about to leave the complex she got out of his grasp and he booked it, she broke down crying. The people from the elevator tried to comfort her, the cops showed up right away, took her concerns very seriously trying to find him but he had disappeared. Even took the precautions of putting boyfriend and mentor in prison for the night in case they were associated with him. She left the next day to return home to Canada to be with her family. They ended up finding Robert 3-4 months later, France paid for her trips to fly back for hearing and trial. Robert got 8 years in prison and then the rest of the book is about her coping with things and statistics of rape. When they found Robert he still had the knife he used when he raped her.

What was interesting from Jackson's book was the difference between police officers in Paris vs in America. The quick response, the amount of officers showing up (5-6) to take her statements and find the guy, the overhaul to find Robert, taking her to get a rape kit, and doing anything they can to protect her.

Mikah and Jace had "The Invisible Target" by Andrea Clemens, which is written in sections of her life. One of her teachers spent a lot of time with his students, so she got closer to him in middle school and would do anything she could to talk to him, which he completely ignored her (she later found out it was a part of the process of making him want her more). She then gets 100% on her test and he would drive her home, the mom saw them sitting outside in the car for a long time and thought it was weird. When she was drinking one night she told her best friend about what happened but made her promise not to tell anyone. Clemens felt like she had to do anything she could to make him happy, she never said no, but remembers crying and being repulsed by him. One of the red flags she got when she was younger because Mr. Baker gave her a music box that played a Romeo and Juliet song, and told her he would miss her over the summer. She went and told the counselor this, and he told her "he probably has feelings for her", Clemens said "no, he's married" and the counselor told her "well, people have affairs". This went on until she was in college and she went to the police because two other 14 year old girls came forward. She didn't write the book until 34 years later, and didn't come forward until 10 years after their abusive relationship ended. She still blames herself, but talks a lot about statutory rape. She tried to stop talking to him and he would drive to her college and and pick her up. 4.5 million students will experience sexual misconduct by employees (k-12). Targets are typically kids who will feel like they are invisible. Her mom didn't stick up for her, nobody did, the teacher targeted her because she needed to feel validated. He would use alcohol during sexual intercourse, she drank it because she was scared and it helped her numb the pain. Eventually, he was convicted (because the other two 14 year olds came forward); however, she was past the statute of limitation. He only got two years even though he did this to at least three students, but probably more. His wife continued to stay with him. Sickening case!

David and Michael had "Perfectly Broken" by Amber Mauldin (published 2014, rape occurred in 98). This book was more about how she dealt with the rape rather than what happened. The rapist (name never given), pulled up to her when she was in a parking lot and was asking for directions, being very insistent on needing help, she gave him the directions, he "couldn't figure it out" so she hopped in his car to help him, he took the opposite turn and put her into a headlock and threatens her life. Tells her to take her clothes off and rapes her, she puts her clothes back on, and then puts her into a headlock and drops her off somewhere randomly. Goes up to the door where she was dropped off and they call the cops, she gives her statement. A lot of the book goes on about how she felt in school, when she was questioned, how people viewed her, and how she dealt with it through Christianity. She studies abroad and feels a lot better because she rediscovers herself and gets help from youth group leader when she comes back. Her rapist got 101 years total for the rape (66 for her, and 3 other women came forward for the rest). One of the officers makes her tell her story 4 times, she felt like he didn't believe her. The rapist didn't use a condom, so she didn't wanna use the bathroom because she didn't want to get rid of the evidence. 10 years later (after rape) she is married and having a baby (when she wrote this book).

11/3

Today we went over more books, Shalynn had "Lucky", as two others did before. It is about a woman who was a virgin, dressed in "frumpy" clothing and was walking home through a park, a man came up behind her and raped her. She immediately told her RA at her dorm who in turn called the police and had a rape kit done. The rest of the book tells about the rest of her life as a victim. The rapist is caught and convicted in court. She later gets into alcohol and drugs as a coping mechanism. She does a good job examining her new position as a rape victim, "a story to people", "an object", multiple people would say "that was their BEST FRIEND" or someone they knew "very well" even if that wasn't true. She becomes a story and not a person. The fact that she was a virgin was extremely instrumental to her life, and her case. In her own mind she was still a virgin, even though physically that wasn't true. "That person is in my world and I better relate to him"...only certain people understand her in "that world". She wanted people to say the word, it is important to say the word. A lot of people didn't want to listen to her story, but she wanted them to listen.

Jaime went next and read "Telling" (published in 1999, but raped in 80's). 29 years old, someone broke into her apartment while her husband was gone, raped her at knife point, tortured her for multiple hours. Her friend took her to the hospital, nurse told her she was the 4th rape that morning and it was only 6am. Told the story in snippets throughout the book, not just in one big story. She slept with a knife under her mattress for 20 years. She was in labor for 36 hours with her son and that gave her flashbacks to the rape. Her rapist was never caught, but she did attend a trial for a rapist in her neighborhood. Her and her husband divorced after trying to work through it for 13 years, 80% of relationships end after rape. When she would talk about her story she felt like she was "exploding" and people would just be silent. She felt like it was an emotional death for her, really watched her rhetoric "A man raped me" not "I was raped".

I also went over my story:

Nancy Raine moves to Boston, is unpacking her apartment, and goes to take the trash out. When she returns she is grabbed from behind, forced into the bedroom, and bound with duct tape. The rapist repeatedly tells her to “shut up”, forces off her clothing, and rapes her multiple times and ways. He continuously threatens to kill her, and eventually leaves her house. She calls the police, goes to the hospital for a rape kit, gives a statement. She moves in with her parents for 6 weeks while experiencing the worst of the after effect. She then returns home to Boston and is quiet about her rape for 7 years until her friend’s daughter, Kate, who knows the details and was sexually assaulted herself, tells Nancy she is not alone. Nancy now has a new life with a husband and a home, and decides to write a book in hopes that her breaking the silence would make rape less “unspeakable” and help others speak out.

What it does good:

-Explain her story in detail

-Explain why she couldn’t really move or scream because paralyzed by fear (pg 35)

-Explain after moments of attack 39-43

-Explaining how it feels to go to the hospital right after rape (pg 56, 64)

-Intertwines past and present to relate story of what happened and how it currently effects her

What it could have done better:

-Add in a few more sporadically, would go off on long tangents about facts

-Goes off on a lot of little tangents that do relate, but seem like too much information

-Doesn’t talk much about experience with police officers

We talked about what happens if the rapist is caught, and if it adds closure for the rape victim. Nancy still struggled with the fear of her rapist finding her and attacking again.