Even after all these years, my fellow prisoners manage to surprise me on occasion.
In a recent issue of our national paper, Inside Time, a con was deploring the presence of female staff in male prisons.
I like women staff, in the sense that I'd rather look at something pleasing to the eye than suffer a perpetual vista of hairy-arsed men.
This doesn't mean that I am immune from being prompted from groaning in frustration at the rare sight of a very sexy woman on the landings. But that is normal, it isn't as if I live in fear of my urges overwhelming me and leading to wickedness.
But this isn't to deny that female staff don't complicate issues on occasion. Whereas it was a strict norm that women staff should never be subjected to violence, no matter how justified, the presence of women on riot squads makes that judgement a more fluid one.
Complications aside, even though the presence of women staff has the potential to intensify frustration, I would never dream of complaining about their existence.
More, I worry about those who do complain. It makes me wonder if they live in fear of their urges, whether they wonder if their appreciation of women may take a deviant turn.
This was played out beautifully by an incident in which an utterly gorgeous probation officer used to swan through the lifer wing wearing a miniskirt and a low cut t-shirt. She looked like Michelle Pfeiffer at her best. Most of us were highly appreciative.
A small number actually made an official complaint. All were rapists. What a way to live, feeling threatened by one's own sexuality.
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I always thought rape was more about power than sexuality? Maybe the scumbag rapists were pissed off because they could not assert power over this woman and bring her down in any way, so they thought she was flaunting her power over them by dressing provocatively.
ReplyDeleteBen you are doing great stuff for women's liberation mate. Keep it up. I am not a feminist, but I believe in women expressing their sexuality the way they feel comfortable with as long as they are not being exploited. So fuck the rapists. I hope other prisoners rape these rapists to give them the taste of their own medicine. No two wrongs make a right, but raping a rapist is not a wrong in my books.
ReplyDeleteI must also confess to using some quotes from your blog in my last blog. I hope you don't mind/
is there no moderator here to take issue with the comments of F Durrant?
ReplyDeleteShort of libel, there is no moderation of comments- editor.
ReplyDeleteThis has got me thinking about a funny thing I experienced while staying in a mental hospital; I hope no-one minds me recounting the story here on Ben's Blog.
ReplyDeleteI had been in mental institution for a few days and wanted to go and sit by a window which had decorations on it, but it was just outside the ward.
The male staff on duty told me I could not go, but I went anyway, they pressed the alarm bells, and I started to run.
I got just outside the ward and three male nurses threatened to inject me with a major tranq; so I stuck my trousered cheek at them and said 'go on then, kiss my arse'.
Luckily they changed their mind about forcefully injecting me, and instead frog marched me to the isolation room.
On the way, one nurse twisted my arm a bit, the others lent on me, then we passed a male patient and everyone squeezed me (four blokes), well I didn't half feel much better then, after that!
Raping the rapist is not a long term or permanent solution.
ReplyDeleteFor a start you don't necessarily know their circumstances, they might have been raped themselves in the past, therefore more rape will only add abuse on top of abuse, and it is questionable whether a rapist will learn that way.
Convictions of all reported rape is at a very small portion which is indicative of sexism within the judicial system.
The objective is to get rid if the oppression of women (the oldest oppression in history).
Us women tend to be sexually repressed, in part due the enormous pressures on us concerning our looks.
With this sexual repression and objectification of women goes everyones repression, and so it follows that if sex can be bought and sold, so too can it be stolen, hence violence against women and rape.
The solution lies with womens becoming more confident in themselves.
This is achievable through their participation in the fight to change the world - make it a better, a more just and equal place.
Where men accept that a womans place is as a fellow fighter alongside their brothers, and men respect women for that.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDelete"is there no moderator here to take issue with the comments of F Durrant?"
Happy now Anonymous that SophieJ has explained why raping a rapist is not a solution? I have had debates with SophieJ on related subjects and I must admit that I find her very well balanced in her analysis of such diabolic invasive intrusion into other people's lives. Personally I would not rape my rapist even if he invites me to do so. I just loathe and despise such kind of behaviour having experienced it first hand. From my experience, one never gets over the experience of being raped and the only way to describe it is that one feels guilty, filthy and dirty for life despite all the antiseptic or deodorant one uses. It is like a life sentence!
How would raping the rapist help? All it does is make the person doling out the punishment as bad as the person being punished. And it won't stop the incorrect connection in the head of the original rapist that led him/ her to commit their crime. So it wouldn't achieve anything productive. I'm all for women's rights but dressing appropriately is common sense. I work in civil engineering, I don't expect to be allowed to wear a mini skirt and 4 inch stilettos to work merely because I'm a woman. Besides, everyone would be able to see up my skirt as I climbed scaffolding...
ReplyDeleteVicola said...
ReplyDelete"How would raping the rapist help?"
Of course it does not help especially where the rapist is so perverted that he might even enjoy being raped. I was just letting out steam of an eye for an eye.
On a serious note, I work with the general public who come to me for advice in full knowledge that what ever they tell me is confidential, so I have heard the worst forms of sexual abuse, even from men. Sexual abuse does deprive victims of a sense of self worth and damages them psychologically even affects their long term relationship with partners for life. Some people do recover, but the majority live with the guilt of blaming themselves and feeling filthy and unworthy of love.
As for wearing appropriate clothing, I for one have never worn a mini skirt, its either trousers or long skirts, maybe a psychological thing of being protective of my body with clothing. But as a dress code, I don't think that there is anything wrong with a mini skirt. No one should relate a woman's body to sex. Women are not sex objects and it is only those with an oppressive and perverted mentality who think women are there to satisfy the sexual desire of men.
"But as a dress code, I don't think that there is anything wrong with a mini skirt."
ReplyDeleteThere isn't, you're quite right and indeed women's bodies should not be seen as sex objects. It's just that there are places where it's grand to flaunt the fact that women can wear what they like and places where it's possible but not advisable. Because you CAN do something, doesn't automatically make it the best course of action. In an ideal world women's bodies would always be viewed with respect but this isn't an ideal world. In my opinion, gratuitous flaunting of bodyparts in front of men who are where they are precisely because they didn't value a woman's rights is not a wise course of action.
Vicola said...
ReplyDelete"In my opinion, gratuitous flaunting of bodyparts in front of men who are where they are precisely because they didn't value a woman's rights is not a wise course of action."
Maybe that will work as therapy for the perverts - you know like those people who are so frightened of spiders that the only therapy is the shock therapy of spending a full day in a tank full of tarantulas!