Beryl Bainbridge
I'll let her speak for herself:
"I am not a feminist in the slightest. I was brought up to believe that women were much superior to men, only you kept it very quiet. I remember an occasion at some feminist meeting, years ago with Fay Weldon, and I happened to bring up rape and all the women got rather hostile. My theory is that as long as there is no violence – no holding a knife to you – it can't be classified as rape. A husband can't rape a wife; I don't think it is possible. As long as you're not a virgin I don't understand what all the fuss is about. When I was younger you just didn't mention abuse, whether it was by strangers or your husband. You just got on with it and it didn't half help you to deal with men."
Quoted in the Observer's New Woman Magazine.
I'm not surprised that the women at the meeting got pissed off with her, sheesh! Obviously Beryl is here working with a different definition of rape than the one normally accepted. We would usually argue that what matters is the consent of the victim, wheareas for her, consent is irrelevant and it's only violence that makes it rape, unless of course it's your husband, in which case, there can be no rape whatever he does to you, I presume. Yes, let's all go back to the good old days when women didn't mention abuse. Why does she refer to it as "abuse" in this sentence when she's just said it isn't abuse in the one previously? Talk about self-contradiction. Also, Beryl seems to think that once a woman has been penetrated once, her vagina is then forever primed and ready for sex at any moment and she therefore cannot be raped. And despite all of this women are much superior to men! What the fuck is this woman on?
I suspect she thinks she's being ever so anti-PC cool and edgy by saying this sort of thing, but no, she just being a prime jerk.
If I was in charge of everything, Beryl would have to pay a penalty for this comment. The sentence: 3 months community service working in a rape crisis centre.
Via The F Word.
"I am not a feminist in the slightest. I was brought up to believe that women were much superior to men, only you kept it very quiet. I remember an occasion at some feminist meeting, years ago with Fay Weldon, and I happened to bring up rape and all the women got rather hostile. My theory is that as long as there is no violence – no holding a knife to you – it can't be classified as rape. A husband can't rape a wife; I don't think it is possible. As long as you're not a virgin I don't understand what all the fuss is about. When I was younger you just didn't mention abuse, whether it was by strangers or your husband. You just got on with it and it didn't half help you to deal with men."
Quoted in the Observer's New Woman Magazine.
I'm not surprised that the women at the meeting got pissed off with her, sheesh! Obviously Beryl is here working with a different definition of rape than the one normally accepted. We would usually argue that what matters is the consent of the victim, wheareas for her, consent is irrelevant and it's only violence that makes it rape, unless of course it's your husband, in which case, there can be no rape whatever he does to you, I presume. Yes, let's all go back to the good old days when women didn't mention abuse. Why does she refer to it as "abuse" in this sentence when she's just said it isn't abuse in the one previously? Talk about self-contradiction. Also, Beryl seems to think that once a woman has been penetrated once, her vagina is then forever primed and ready for sex at any moment and she therefore cannot be raped. And despite all of this women are much superior to men! What the fuck is this woman on?
I suspect she thinks she's being ever so anti-PC cool and edgy by saying this sort of thing, but no, she just being a prime jerk.
If I was in charge of everything, Beryl would have to pay a penalty for this comment. The sentence: 3 months community service working in a rape crisis centre.
Via The F Word.
posted by Winter at 7:24 AM
7 Comments:
If an MRA came out with something like this I could be righteously angry, but when it's a woman saying it I feel deeply disgusted and ashamed as well. She does us all a disservice.
Wonder if she thinks it's ok to rape men and boys if you don't hold a knife to their throats and they're not virgins.
Also, what was Beryl doing at a feminist meeting in the first place? Did she just go to be annoying?
Was Gordon convincing?
Ugh.
I have to dispute the community service though - she must never, *ever* be allowed near a Rape Crisis Centre.
Ugh!
Good point. I don't know what we can do with her!
I don't understand how a woman can use a woman's magazine to publish her words for the mainstream press, while at the same time bash the very feminism that allows a woman's magazine to publish women's voices in the mainstream press to existed in the first place.
It's like people bitching about how bad unions are at their Labor Day Weekend barbeque.
One of my (male) friends, a court reporter, suggests she should sit on the trial he's currently working. The victim is pressing charges against her husband for rape and she's the most traumatised witness he's ever seen. They were married for several years, during which he beat her with a Bible (!), kneed her so hard she had to have her appendix removed, then broke her stiches again and nearly gave her a miscarriage. She's so traumatised, she reguarly throws up in court and shakes the whole time.
What this women said is so wrong as unwanted, forced or coerced sex is rape how ever you look at it and in naiades comment it says "a long involved article about how awful it was to go without shaving for a month." i'm a male but i don't see what is wrong with women not shaving it's thier body and they should be able to with it as they wish and not be made to feel ugly or as though they disgusting.I'd also like to say to winter woods that i feel so, so truly sorry for the woman who court case you have described as nobody should ever have to go through what this woman has gone through and that i sincerely hope that the - who did this to her is locked up for the rest of his miserable life and never even allowed to see a picture of a woman let alone be near one as women deserve better.Thank you for reading my comment-Aaron
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