Spontaneous Musings

I liked this post by gabrielleabelle quite a bit, it expresses fairly clearly some of my own thoughts on the issue of how female sexuality has been exploited by and for men in comics historically...and why this is a problem.

http://gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com/216802.html

As I stated in her blog - it is particularly an issue in the comic book world. We see more female than male nudity in comic books and anime films. Often women are sex objects. If provided with power - it is in a manner that suits a male fantasy, going back as far as Wonder Woman. Who was allegedly created as a feminist role model in a world torn by male hatred. The creator was William Moulton Marston, a controversial figure in later years. According to a documentary on comics I saw a while back - Marston was described as a fetishest who was into dominatrixes and Wonder Woman came from his own sexual fantasies.
( From Wonder Woman to Buffy - about feminism and comic books, using primarily Wonder Woman as an example )

[BEFORE READING AND COMMENTING ON THE BELOW:Please note the following is meant to be an objective gathering and explanation of facts - I'm not stating that what happened in the Roman Polanski case was not rape or the facts as I read them on the salon article and in blogs are not true - if they are? He is a douchebag, but then I always thought Polanski was a douchebag - I've seen his films, Repulsion, Rosemary's Baby and The Tenant - all make one want to squirm in their seat forever and a day. Also up until recently, I thought the reason he left the US was he was having sexual relations with then 15 year old Natassha Kiniski the star of his film, Tess of the D'Urbvilles. Polanski also is not the first person to flee for this - Charlie Chaplin did, as did Fatty Urbunkle, I believe.( But as to what actually happened in this case? Truth is I have no idea, all I know is what a lot of bloggers and op-ed commentators have stated or reported based on testimony that they've cobbled from sources or links on the internet, and I know enough to trust internet cites, including one's I've linked to, twitterers, bloggers and op-ed journalists about as far as I can throw a 300 pound gorilla, which is not that far. That again is not to say that they are not correct and this is not true. But keep in mind it happened over 30 years ago, the testimony is 30 years old, and only the people who were actually there know for certain, and the prosecutor has gone on record as to having lied about it to make his case winnable (ETA: apparently even that bit is not clear, since that prosecutor apparently lied about being involved with the case and it was a completely different prosecutor - sigh we really do live in the age of misinformation, don't we?). This means we can't know for certain what happened, we can only speculate.) Nor am I condoning Whoopie Goldberg's statement listed below, I am providing an objective explanation. So if you disagree - please do not shoot the messenger. I am just imparting information. I am giving you the information that I've discovered to provide a complete picture. Information that may or may not be true. The veracity of any of this seems to still be in question. Again please do not misunderstand any of the below to be condoning the drugging and as a direct result coercion of a young girl to have sex, I don't care if she was 13 or 54 - that is rape. By the way, if she was under 10 - it would not have been statutory rape or rape, it would have been child molestation and pedophilia which has a completely different set of laws and a far harsher set of penalities. The bit on Age of Consent in California - gives the penalities for statutory rape in the state of California. ]

The papers have been agog with the Roman Polanski issue. Spoke to a reluctant mother about it over the phone - she told me that according to the news they will probably have to dismiss the case for two reasons: 1)the prosecutor lied to the judge in the initial case causing the plea bargain to be dropped and Polanski to flee and 2) besides spending 42 days in prison, Polanski paid the victim years ago, quite a bit of money as the result of a civil suit regarding the action.

( links on the settlement and the prosecutor lying )

( difference between statutory rape and rape and Whoopie's Quote )

( What did Whoopie mean by her it is not rape-rape comment, defining statutory rape or why Angel in Buffy the Vampire Slayer would be convicted of rape under California Law )

( California Statute on Statutory Rape )
( why consent is not a factor in statutory rape cases )

( why Whoopie's statement was a major faux paus and rape statistics )