Public transportation is probably one of the best and worst things about big cities. It can usually be pretty reliable, but when it isn’t, it really isn’t. And let’s not forget the dismal conditions that stations, buses, and trains can be in. But despite the downfalls, it’s one of the best methods of transportation in cities. That’s why millions of people a day use public transportation.

Out of those people, far too many of the women who depend on the train system feel like they have to be on their guard – and for entirely justifiable, horrible reasons. The NY Times tells a grizzly truth that not a lot of people are willing to admit happens, much less consider it a problem. But every day in countless trains in countless cities, a woman is sexually assaulted.

It’s not just American cities, either. It happens everywhere, from NYC to Mexico City to Tokyo, where they’ve even made women-only cars. It can be just a pinch or a brush, a blatant grope, and even a flash. It can happen to any woman of any race, though it’s generally females under 20. And I can’t think of a single female I know who frequently takes public transportation that it hasn’t happened to.

Not even me. Read More »

Ladies, take note: the magazine that we love to hate, Cosmopolitan, is touting the sex trend du jour. It seems that gray-rape is the new date rape!

What is gray-rape? It’s the type of rape that happens after you protest having sex with someone but they go ahead anyway after you black out after one too many Smirnoff shots and cheep beer at your local frat’s beer pong competition.

Sigh. Who knew I would yearn for the days that Cosmo published articles that merely warned us that we are most likely to get attacked and raped in the summertime because of flimsy outfits?

Until winter rolls around, when we’re most vulnerable because we’re less on guard, or something. And on vacation, because we leave our inhibitions and tasers at the door.

Oh, and on any old day, coming home from work, because we’re less paranoid of attackers lurking in the bushes when we’re close to home.

And now they’re telling us we have not-quite-rape to worry about?

I don’t know about you, but I think that saying “no” and promptly passing out sends a pretty clear message: “Even if I wanted to sleep with you, which I don’t, I would not be physically able to participate in intercourse as evidenced by the fact that I am not awake for it.” Read More »