Julian Assange: a victim of “revolutionary feminism?”
Julian Assange faces rape charges in Sweden.
An update on Assange thanks to Feministing.com, who put it right:
Maybe Assange is confused because he doesn’t seem to grasp the basics of consent. He says one of the women “arrived at a lunch in a revealing pink cashmere sweater, flirted with him, and took him home.” And the other woman took a “’trophy photo’ of him lying naked in her bed.” Well, ok, that’s nice. And also totally irrelevant to the accusations against him, since both women have said that the sexual encounters began consensually but at some point stopped being consensual. That pink cashmere might have screamed “unprotected sex against my will” to Assange, but I’m guessing that wasn’t the woman’s intention.
Assange, who, as highlighted in this earlier post here, and this one, is currently wanted for interrogation on rape allegations being made abroad in Sweden, with two female accusers coming forward. Once he moved past his defense that he was a victim of “politics,” he opened his mouth- and revealed he also sees himself as a victim of “feminism.” This seems laughable, since the encounters he is facing interrogation for are those of having sex with a woman while she was asleep- always charming- and continuing to have sex with women after they asked him to stop – also charming. He has also been accused of using force to coerce these women into nonconsensual sex. Assange seems a little caught up in how this affects him, and not the impact he has had on these lives or the safety of these women and their health.
It is important to note that consent can be withdrawn. It is important to note that consent for one sexual activity is not consent for another, or for any others, or for sex at another time. Consent is borne of freedom of choice and open communication- which Assange resisted through physical force and the act of ignoring his sexual partner’s voices.
And it is important to note that sex without consent is rape, not a political act to be used to create sympathy for him. Perhaps next time Assange opens his mouth, he should talk a little more about himself, and what his actions really mean for these allegations.
Editor’s note: This post was edited on Dec 29. Assange has not been charged at this point; these are allegations. Sorry for the mistake.
Tags: assault, celebrity, communication, consent, Media, men, rape, respect, women
Mistake!! Assange is NOT facing rape charges in Sweden. The Swedish say they want him for interrogation – but they completed already an interview. Mr. Assange waited 5 weeks in Sweden for the second interview and then left the country.
So far he has NOT been charged with anything yet!!
Ah, sorry- thank you for that clarification!
This is an interesting perspective that I hadn’t really thought of before. Thank you for bringing that point up. Whether Assange actually raped anyone is not for me to say. I do know that if he committed the act of rape, he should pay for it. Of course, that opinion will probably be blown off considering I am an American. I am not one that calls for his death, but I do think he should pay for the crimes if he committed them. And he is running away from his responsibility when he fights extradition. If he is what he says he is, he should face whatever comes his way instead of hiding behind every possible thing he can to avoid the situation.
Thanks so much Dawn! That’s exactly what I’m trying to communicate. This case is not about feminism, or motives. It is about rape. And if Assange did what he is alleged to have done, he committed rape. If he did not, well – time will tell. But if he did, it doesn’t matter why the government is pursuing it, or why he gets charged: it only matters that he faces justice for rape if he indeed committed it.
Glad you enjoyed it!