though honestly, that's an icky word and I can sort of see why they'd rather use a more tactful term.
But that's what it is. Inappropriate touching is what you get when you go out to club where the possibility of looking for sex or sexual attention at least exists. At home in your bed, you are not looking to be touched period, and anyone who does touch you--be it on the wrist or on the breast--is molesting or sexually assaulting you. When you use euphemisms, you downplay the severity and the charged nature of the incident. Which, as most victims would tell you, is like being assaulted all over again because it is their word, their emotional response being mitigated so others can enjoy a squeamish-less day. It's not tact to tell an assault victim that she was "inappropriately touched"--it's condescending.
Basically, these words should be jarring to read. In the case of this warning, which was put up in elevators and on every floor's bulletin board, the point was to jar people so that they'd take notice and be sure to lock windows on fire escapes and such.
As for how this is feminism? It would be molestation no matter the players. However, there is a definite bias in reporting crimes, especially those of sexual abuse/assault nature, against women with lighter turns of phrase than men. There was a recent case where a university, in Michigan, I believe, fired its president for hushing up what was a brutal rape and murder on their campus. There was an actual effort to deny that any foul play occurred, which is an extreme, yes, but it's not the only example. A judge in the midwest has banned the word "rape" from a rape trial for the same reasons you stated--they were unnecessarily shocking/potentially biasing. It's ridiculous, and I want it stopped. I want to see reporting on incidents reflect the severity of the occurrence and I don't want to pussy-foot around terms that accurately describe the experience of the victim. If we don't say, "So and so departed this world" when someone is murdered in the news, then we don't say "so and so was inappropriately touched" when they were assaulted.
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Date: 2007-07-27 03:47 pm (UTC)But that's what it is. Inappropriate touching is what you get when you go out to club where the possibility of looking for sex or sexual attention at least exists. At home in your bed, you are not looking to be touched period, and anyone who does touch you--be it on the wrist or on the breast--is molesting or sexually assaulting you. When you use euphemisms, you downplay the severity and the charged nature of the incident. Which, as most victims would tell you, is like being assaulted all over again because it is their word, their emotional response being mitigated so others can enjoy a squeamish-less day. It's not tact to tell an assault victim that she was "inappropriately touched"--it's condescending.
Basically, these words should be jarring to read. In the case of this warning, which was put up in elevators and on every floor's bulletin board, the point was to jar people so that they'd take notice and be sure to lock windows on fire escapes and such.
As for how this is feminism? It would be molestation no matter the players. However, there is a definite bias in reporting crimes, especially those of sexual abuse/assault nature, against women with lighter turns of phrase than men. There was a recent case where a university, in Michigan, I believe, fired its president for hushing up what was a brutal rape and murder on their campus. There was an actual effort to deny that any foul play occurred, which is an extreme, yes, but it's not the only example. A judge in the midwest has banned the word "rape" from a rape trial for the same reasons you stated--they were unnecessarily shocking/potentially biasing. It's ridiculous, and I want it stopped. I want to see reporting on incidents reflect the severity of the occurrence and I don't want to pussy-foot around terms that accurately describe the experience of the victim. If we don't say, "So and so departed this world" when someone is murdered in the news, then we don't say "so and so was inappropriately touched" when they were assaulted.