lady in blue: a friend is hard to press charges against
lady in red: if you know him
you must have wanted it
lady in purple: a misunderstanding
lady in red: you know
these things happen
lady in blue: are you sure
you didnt suggest
lady in purple: had you been drinking
lady in red: a rapist is always to be a stranger
to be legitimate
someone you never saw
a man wit obvious problems
These few lines from Shange’s Latent Rapists’ stand alone without the need of further explanation. The talk about rapes and sexual misconducts against women are not new or unfamiliar, especially with the kind of society and current events surrounding us recently. What I find very interesting is the fact that the blame has not changed from the year For Colored Girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf was written and today. Women are still being blamed for being raped, being told that somehow it’s their fault for wearing suggestive clothings or walking alone, etc. Rape culture has continuously ignored who was doing the raping.
In this video, Trevor Noah talks about “president” Donald Trump’s usage of victimhood. Trump held a rally a couple of days ago in which he states that this is the worst time to be a men in America as any man would be easily accused of sexual violence or misconduct. When he was asked about the women in America, he said that women were doing great. Having a president who is as ignorant and misguided as Trump adds fuel to the battle women have been fighting their entire lives. He is a disrespectful and disgraceful man to human kind itself. We victimize those who deserve innocence while giving innocence to those who should be victimized. I can only wonder how Shange would revise or add on to Latent Rapists’ to reflect the increased intensity in the rape culture and sexual misconduct in our society.