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The Queen - Helen Mirren - has spoken, and what a poor excuse for a speech it is
The October issue of GQ magazine features an interview with Oscar winning actress, Dame Helen Mirren. In it, Mirren reveals that as a student she was date-raped a couple of times, "not with excessive violence, or being hit, but rather being locked in a room and made to have sex against my will". She goes on to talk about what she perceives to be a grey area. In her opinion, in a scenario where a woman voluntarily goes to a man's bedroom, engages in sexual activity, but then says "no" at the last minute, the man is free to ignore her wishes and force her to have sex despite her refusal. Such a man, in Mirren's view, is not to be "legally" accused of rape.
U.S.
Generally speaking, rape is defined as an act of physically forcing another person to have sexual intercourse. Legal definitions vary from country to country, and in the
The notion that men are to be excused because they cannot stop themselves when asked to do so in the last minute is archaic and inane. It is also very degrading towards men, since it assumes that they are not evolved thinking human beings, but rather salivating animals, that lack any form of self control, or the ability to backtrack as soon as blood rushes to certain parts of their bodies. Now, no one can suspect me to be a big fan of men, in general, but I would never regard them to be such law forms of life. Simply because they're not.
There is no doubt that Ms Mirren is entitled to her own views and opinions. But as an acclaimed prize winning actress and the bearer of a British royalty title, it is fare to expect her to be a little more careful as to when and where she chooses to voice them. Telling the readers of a leading men's magazine that locking a woman in a room and forcing her to have sex against her will isn't really a violent act, and if a woman voluntarily entered a man's bedroom and didn't articulate her refusal until the "last minute" he is allowed to force himself upon her, is basically like giving men a green light to rape women as long as they comply with Mirren's "guide lines".
This is a blatant display of - how can I put this mildly - very poor judgment. Much like the one she attributes to men.
Wed, 2008-09-10 08:36 —
