On Friday the U.S. Department of Justice scrapped their outdated definition of rape in favour of one that recognizes both men and women can be victims, and rape is not limited to forced vaginal sex.

The new definition of rape is, “the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without consent of the victim.” The previous definition created by the FBI’s Uniform Report was made in 1927 and stated rape as “The carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will.”

So what does this change really mean? Well it means that physical resistance is not necessary to show the victim did not give consent. This means if consent is not given because of “temporary or permanent mental or physical incapacity,” which includes being intoxicated or underage, it can still be rape. Read More »

‘Tis the season to be jolly, to count thy blessings, and to make itemized lists of all the things you want. I used to wish for an easy bake oven, then Justin Timberlake’s hand in marriage, then an unlimited supply of Louboutins…oh, wait, I could still definitely go for that. In addition to a shoe closet to rival Mariah Carey’s (and world peace), I also wish for a shift in our collective sexual culture. We have all the potential to be sexually liberated, but we just won’t let ourselves — as a society — be that great. My ultimate five wishes are:

1. There would be free forms of birth control.

Unplanned pregnancy is awful. Abortion is not ideal. Luckily, there is this wonderful invention called contraception that would greatly decrease the occurrence of both. The reality of the situation is that people are going to have sex because it feels amazing, not always because they want to pop out babies, and our society needs to adjust to this and make contraception as accessible as possible. The risks of unprotected sex are far too great.

2.  Rape would never happen.

Without a doubt, rape and sexual assault are some of the most traumatizing experiences a person could ever endure, and it breaks my heart that 1 in 4 women will experience one or the other during her time in college. We live in a rape culture, where women are expected to always be available for sexual consumption and our language has stripped “rape” of its meaning (you did not rape your psychology final, okay?). In lieu of rape never happening, I would be over the moon if we could stop automatically jumping to the conclusion that all women who report rape are lying, conniving bitches who were totally asking for it because our skirts were short.

3. We could all be sluts, or prudes, and it wouldn’t be up for judgment. 

I don’t care if you’re saving yourself for marriage or for the next guy who buys you a shot, and no one else should either. As long as you’re being responsible, it’s all fair game.

4. Everyone who is sexually active would get tested regularly. 

Most STDs are not a big deal. They can be cleared up with antibiotics and are not any more disgusting than a cold or flu. If we could treat our sexual health like our dental or overall physical health, there would probably a lot less disease transmission, since people would be open about their status. Gonorrhea would be the new strep throat.

5. Everyone would have sex because they want to. 

There would be no having of sex because you feel peer pressure, or you desperately need validation, or because you were really, really, really wasted and you didn’t even know what you were doing for real. Sex should be fun. If it’s not, take a step back and re-evaluate. There’s nothing wrong with abstinence or celibacy.

Basically, I just want everyone to be sex-positive. What’s on your personal sexy wishlish? More orgasms? More kink? Less bad cunnilingus? I want to know!

It’s not every day that Tyler Perry—actor, producer, director and Hollywood’s highest-paid man according to Forbes—takes time out of his incredibly busy schedule to write a lengthy letter. Yet earlier this week, Perry penned an open letter to the 11-year-old boy who was sexually abused by Penn State football coach, Jerry Sandusky, declaring him not a victim, but a hero. And if you’re a female reading this right now, you really should read this letter.

Read More »

A 10-year-old Mexican girl came into the news this week after giving birth to a 31-week-old baby. The main question on the public’s mind is: Was she raped?  So far, no one knows, but hospital workers immediately alerted the police, who are on the case. No matter what, though, the legal consent over there is 12, higher than her age, obviously. Still, the question remains: Who’s the baby daddy? The mother is in good health, but the baby (who was only 3.3 pounds at birth) remains in the intensive care unit. In the state where this happened, abortion is illegal, unless rape can be totally proven…but I mean, come on, with a 10-year-old there doesn’t seem to be much of a question.

On the two month anniversary of the first Occupy Wall Street gathering, New Yorkers gathered for an epic ‘Day of Action.’ After being evicted from their base-camp at Zuccotti Park by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, protesters decided that Thursday would be the perfect opportunity to show that they’re still going strong. About 75 people were arrested in New York, but the event may have led to some anti-Occupy backlash. A month ago, 36% of Americans didn’t support Occupy interests. Today, 45% oppose them. Not so good for the 99%. But this photo may help them out a bit.

We learned (not that we didn’t already know…) that you can never guess what’s going to happen in the GOP race for president. The underdog, former not-a-chance candidate Herman Cain is still in the lead, despite the sexual harassment accusations that have been coming out of the woodwork over the last few weeks. Another woman has come forward against him, but whether Cain is guilty or not, he has other things to worry about. Like the seriously embarrassing moment when a reporter asked him about Obama’s Libya policy and he had no idea what to say. If Cain continues to mess up, Newt Gingrich, who was also formerly at the bottom of the pack, may ride his increasing popularity all the way to the front. (P.S. Sometimes I forget we have months till the first primary…)

Pic o’ the Week:

Kika Press/Zuma Press

Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi finally resigned after months of bitter trials and media accusations, involving underage prostitution.

Most sexual assaults on college campuses are reported in September. The Department of Justice estimates that at least one in five women will be the victim of rape or attempted rape while she’s in college. Women between the ages of 16 and 24 are four times more likely to be raped than any other demographic of women. To say that this is frustrating and infuriating would be an understatement. The reasons for rape are numerous – between institutionalized patriarchy and general objectification of women to individual needs to assert power, combined with the fact that prosecution of rape is notoriously difficult equals a recipe for sexual violence against women.

In typical discussions of rape, there is a lot of emphasis on”prevention”, and the responsibility always seems to land on women. Rape is a unique crime in that it tends to inspire victim-blaming. If someone is mugged, for example, very rarely do people come out of the woodwork to say they were asking for it, that they could have prevented it, that because of their lack of character, they deserved it. When a woman is raped, it is because she was doing something to invite it. She shouldn’t have been [wearing a skirt/drinking/flirting]. Read More »

Last weekend in Toronto, where I live, a reported 1,000 people marched together in the first-ever SlutWalk. The campaign was a response to a comment made at a local university by a police officer, who said women should avoid “dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.” The police have since apologized for the officer’s comment, but it still hit hard with the organizers of SlutWalk.

The idea of SlutWalk spread to two other Canadian cities over this past weekend. I unfortunately worked during the walk in Toronto, but many of my friends were out walking. While they said the walk was mainly positive, there were some groups of men holding signs reading things as “slut after-party.” Because unfortunately the idea that women who dress in a certain way bring negative attention onto themselves and are setting themselves up to be a target is still considered a valid idea by some people.

Why are we still blaming the victim? While women are taught to do all things possible to avoid being raped, our culture is still lacking a don’t rape message. While the White Ribbon campaign and Walk a Mile in Her Shoes are a step in the right direction, it’s clearly not enough. Just look at the frat boys from Yale who were made to chant ‘no means yes.’

Or how about when an 11-year-old gang-rape victim is blamed for dressing older than her age by a politician. If a victim, who is truly only a child, is being shamed, why on earth would anyone want to report a sexual assault. Though this might not be the entire reason, the U.S. Justice Department released a study in 2005 showing that 60 percent of sexual assaults go unreported.

Preventing sexual assault needs to move past the victim. When you hear that Take Back the Night has been happening for thirty-three years, you realize that many issues revolving around sexual assault are seen as responsibilities of the victim. Women should avoid walking alone at night, women should be careful about their drinks at the bar, and women should watch how they dress. When according to RAINN, 38 percent of rape victims know their attacker, is this really enough?

How do we change the attitudes around sexual assault? When will we stop blaming the victim and start blaming the rapist?

Researchers from Florida State University released a study on what makes men monogamous. According to the study, relationship status determines how attractive men find women during different stages of their menstrual cycle. Guys that are single find women most attractive at the peak of ovulation – also known as the best time to get preggers. Alternatively, committed guys find women less attractive when they are more fertile. So for guys in a relationship, finding a woman less attractive at the peak of fertility is seen as reducing the temptation.

Need another reason not to go down on a guy? US scientists said there is strong evidence linking cancer and oral sex. In the US tobacco use has been outranked by HPV as the leading cause of oral cancer. The study shows that oral sex is still sex, and the more partners you have the higher the risk of getting any STI. The real message in this? Protection is key no matter what type of sex you’re having.

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In the late 1800s, children’s literature split into two overall genres: boys’ books and girls’ books. Although girls’ literature continues to be published today, the recognition of female protagonists is often overlooked. In a world full of Mowglis (from The Jungle Book) and Harry Potters, it’s hard for girl characters to get the recognition they deserve. However, though these novels may not receive attention from critics the way boys’ books often do (they are more likely to be critically acclaimed), girls’ literature has been incredibly influential in shaping girl culture overall.

These novels are considered to be classic pieces of girls’ fiction and the issues they touch on helped put the culture of girls and women on the map as an important issue in literature. These novels changed the genre with their forefront issues of gender, socio-economic class systems, body-image and eating disorder acknowledgment, racial discrimination and minority representation, sexual abuse recovery, and the abandonment of young girls by their families and in their educations … simply because they weren’t boys.

Even if sentimental novels or ghost stories aren’t your thing, there will be some story that you will identify with. Perhaps though, identification of yourself in a character is the most important part of girls’ literature and its role in our lives today. Women, no matter what age, can see themselves in these protagonists – and that is why these novels are still around, despite not being critically acclaimed for hundreds of years. And that’s even more reason why every girl (or woman!) should add these to her must-read list: Read More »

Here at CollegeCandy, we often take on topics like entertainment, beauty, and fashion. But every once in awhile, we share things that might otherwise fly under the radar, things that aren’t necessarily fun to talk about but that we as young women need to know.

As college women, sexual assault is a frighteningly real issue on many of our campuses. So when I saw this story, I was pretty outraged. To catch you up to speed, an Australian jury just acquitted a young man of rape because the victim was wearing skinny jeans. Yes, skinny jeans. According to the jury, it wouldn’t be possible for the young man to remove the victim’s jeans without “collaboration,” so he must not be guilty.

I think it’s safe to say that if this young woman said she was raped, if she felt the sex was not consensual, it doesn’t matter who removed her jeans. Let’s say the alleged rapist and his victim “collaborated” to take her pants off. That fact alone does not prove that rape did not occur. Any situation in which one party feels that sexual contact was not consensual is, by definition, sexual assault. Even if she helped take her pants off. Even if she took them off all by herself.

I know there are women (and men, too) who have cried wolf about rape and sexual assault in the past. But people who lead us to believe that sexual assault isn’t a big deal are ignoring the statistics, which show that as many as one in four college women are victims of sexual assault at least once during their college years. Read More »

A few weeks ago, one CollegeCandy writer asked if blackout mistakes should be forgiven. In a similar vain, earlier this week, a Princeton student asked if we are responsible for our choices when blacked out. More specifically, when a girl is raped while drunk, is it her fault?

Iulia Neagu, a freshman at Princeton, recently wrote about a(n ex) friend’s claim that she was raped while drunk.  Neagu said, in response to the question of whether or not the friend was responsible for her drunken actions:

“She knew what would happen if she started drinking. We all know that the more people drink, the less likely they are to make wise decisions. It is common sense. Therefore, the girl willingly got herself into a state in which she could not act rationally. This, in my opinion, is equivalent to agreeing to anything that might happen to her while in this state. In the case of our girl, this happened to be sex with a stranger.” Read More »