This bit appears on the Maxim magazine website. It uses rape, and women’s apparent attraction to men who look like rapists, in order to be humorous. I think it’s particularly interesting that it includes a jab at a Republican (or is it just “the establishment”?). If they are obviously leftist/anti-establishment, are we to believe that they must be good guys, therefore this use of rape for comedic value is okay? Or is this just another manifestation of the equal opportunity insult comedy found in products like South Park and Knocked Up? There is a lot going on here and I’m pretty sure I have yet to fully grasp it. Any thoughts?[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVcyNANK5cY[/youtube]
Comments 7
dragonfae9 — March 29, 2008
I don't care what party you're with. I just don't believe its acceptable to compare politicians to rapists.
Sociological Images » EQUAL OPPORTUNITY OFFENSIVENESS — January 27, 2009
[...] also this example of rape humor from the Maxim magazine website. tags: death, fat, gender, history, humor, race/ethnicity, [...]
AileenWuornos — January 28, 2009
Because women TOTALLY love being RAPED and we never KNOW who's raping us.
What a crock of shit. I want to set those dudes on fire.
Kileigh — February 19, 2009
I think it's more making fun of women who say they "go for the bad boy look," and want some "danger." The fantasy "bad boy" of James Dean is a little different from the reality "bad guy" of a rapist.
girl — June 29, 2009
I didn't know rapists wear old-fashioned glasses. I guess since my boyfriend wore those glasses in the eighties, he was a rapist back then. Thank god he wears modern-style glasses now!
Anonymous — April 1, 2011
This is a clever parody of sites that give terrible sex advice like ask men. They always try to make the guys be "bad boys" to like, exploit womens innate need to be insluted or something crazy like that.
The joke is that guys look at things like "dangerous men." and then think women like rapists...
Criminologist — May 26, 2011
This is interesting to me. When I saw it the first time I was bothered and uncomfortable because I am a survivor and I don't enjoy humor about sexual violence, but there are some interesting parodies happening here. One, they are parodying the cultural idea that people who are different looking are the creepy sexual predators, when in reality creepy sexual predators can look like anyone. Secondly, they are parodying the cultural idea that women want "bad boys" but they don't really want creepy sexual predators or "real" bad boys, they want an image of a bad boy perpetuated by Hollywood. But my attraction to this humor is that it really takes on the cultural images we have in our heads that each of us carries about what criminals look like and we know people who fit this image suffer worse in the criminal justice system. In that way it is a humorous send up of a stupid cultural image. While I don't find humor about sexual violence at all funny, I don't think they are actually implying here that women want to be raped or are attracted to rapists; it seems to me they are sending the opposite message. But sarcasm is not a humor that is carried over to all types of people. Where I live now, NO ONE gets sarcasm and they would all take this video entirely literally and not get it at all.