Scots Make it Clear: My Skirt Isn't Asking You to Rape Me

by Alex DiBranco · 2010-07-14 16:25:00 UTC
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Tracy Clarke-Flory on Salon's Broadsheet calls attention to a new television ad campaign in Scotland that takes on the myth that a woman is "asking for it" head on, with a healthy dose of mockery. The "Not Ever" campaign by Rape Crisis Scotland takes its inspiration for the 30-second spot from a government survey conducted this February that found that 17% of Scots believe that a woman wearing "revealing clothing" is "partly, mostly or totally to blame for being raped." (I've given away the answer to one of their quiz questions.)

The "as if" at the end of this public service announcement immediately makes me think of Alicia Silverstone in Clueless. And while this might seem pretty flippant for a commercial about rape, I think that's what really makes this spot work. It's so utterly ludicrous to think of a woman standing in front of the mirror, trying to decide what skirt will make a guy have sex with her against her will, and asking the sales lady for advice on rape fashion.

The Scots are hardly the only ones to blame women for wearing "revealing" clothing if they get raped. I'm not going to get deeply into the arbitrary designation of what is "revealing" or not, and how that depends on individual and cultural perspective. I won't dive in about how a woman who want to dress up in a cute skirt maybe looking for somebody she'd like to have consensual sex with isn't offering all men an open invitation to rape her if they have the urge. I like this ad, and I'll let its mockery mostly speak for itself. Nobody asks to be raped. Ever. It's as simple as that.

Alex DiBranco is a Change.org Editor who has worked for the Nation, Political Research Associates, and the Center for American Progress. She is now based in New York City.
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