Not the news headline you were expecting? Me neither.
After all, why did we hear nothing about Jerome after he raped Calliope?
Seriously,
look up "rape" and then re-read the scene with Cal and Jerome
After all, readers are
able to view the entire event from Cal's point of view, where he never once
seems to give consent. Not verbally, not mentally, not emotionally, not
physically - literally no sign of Cal wanting anything from Jerome other than
his sister.
Furthermore, Cal had a
moment during this scene where he “realized how drunk [he] was” (Eugenides 375)
and everyone hates bringing up the complicating factor of alcohol, but it is
very clear that Cal’s intoxication was no accident. Indeed, it seems that
Jerome was waiting until the alcohol had taken plenty of time to affect Cal
before he sexually assaulted him.
I was worried, for a
good portion of the novel, that Cal never had time to realize that this
experience was in fact a rape. After all, he was so busy worrying about his
genitals and being discovered as intersex, that he never dwelled on what
happened that night. As the novel bounced back and forth between Cal’s
adolescent years and adult years, I began to worry that this experience was part
of what made him so distant with Julie; maybe it was part of the reason why he
could never get both emotionally and physically intimate with his lovers? Given
that it was his first sexual experience (at least technically), I worried that
he thought about it often and that even as an adult it was affecting his life
negatively.
Maybe I’m reading too
into the novel, but why wouldn’t I? If you took a good look at the rape culture that our
society promotes, then you too would worry about Cal as I did. Look at Brock
Turner, the Standford University swimmer who served only 6 months for his rape.
Look at Donald Trump, who actually has a shot at becoming the President of our
country.
Grab
her by the 'crocus'
Look at almost any major media outlet and watch how they cover
rape. Are they sensationalizing? Are they victim-blaming? Are they
manipulating? In almost all cases, the answer to one of those questions is yes.
Maybe
it’s just me that was worried about Cal after he got raped…but it shouldn’t
Not the news headline you were expecting? Me neither.
After all, why did we hear nothing about Jerome after he raped Calliope?
Whoa, rape?
Yeah, rape.
Rape is sexual activity where there is a lack of
consent, meaning that Cal and Jerome’s interaction in the swamp shack is a textbook
definition of rape.
 |
Seriously,
look up "rape" and then re-read the scene with Cal and Jerome
|
After all, readers are
able to view the entire event from Cal's point of view, where he never once
seems to give consent. Not verbally, not mentally, not emotionally, not
physically - literally no sign of Cal wanting anything from Jerome other than
his sister.
Furthermore, Cal had a
moment during this scene where he “realized how drunk [he] was” (Eugenides 375)
and everyone hates bringing up the complicating factor of alcohol, but it is
very clear that Cal’s intoxication was no accident. Indeed, it seems that
Jerome was waiting until the alcohol had taken plenty of time to affect Cal
before he sexually assaulted him.
I was worried, for a
good portion of the novel, that Cal never had time to realize that this
experience was in fact a rape. After all, he was so busy worrying about his
genitals and being discovered as intersex, that he never dwelled on what
happened that night. As the novel bounced back and forth between Cal’s
adolescent years and adult years, I began to worry that this experience was part
of what made him so distant with Julie; maybe it was part of the reason why he
could never get both emotionally and physically intimate with his lovers? Given
that it was his first sexual experience (at least technically), I worried that
he thought about it often and that even as an adult it was affecting his life
negatively.
Maybe I’m reading too
into the novel, but why wouldn’t I? If you took a good look at the rape culture that our
society promotes, then you too would worry about Cal as I did. Look at Brock
Turner, the Standford University swimmer who served only 6 months for his rape.
Look at Donald Trump, who actually has a shot at becoming the President of our
country.
 |
Grab
her by the 'crocus'
|
Look at almost any major media outlet and watch how they cover
rape. Are they sensationalizing? Are they victim-blaming? Are they
manipulating? In almost all cases, the answer to one of those questions is yes.
I was immediately grabbed by your title, trying to think back to cases I had heard about this until I realized it was about Middlesex. That was such a creative way to get the attention of your reader and it definitely proved your point about rape culture, that a lot of times we do not actually hear about the rapes that have occurred, whether it’s due to the victim's fear of being blamed or society not calling it rape, but that doesn’t change the fact that rape is rape if it is not consensual. There are plenty of reasons we don't hear from victims after sexual assault. One of the most infuriating comments I have heard during this election process regarding allegations against Donald Trump for sexual assault is “Why now?” It’s easy to assume that victims would come forward now only to sabotage his chance at becoming president, but it is not uncommon for victims to feel solidarity in hearing another individual come forward, giving them the confidence to do so as well. In my opinion, I wouldn’t call it so much a sabotage as I would a necessary wake-up call for voters. Regardless of whether some allegations may be untrue or not, the fact that a potential future president has this many allegations against him AND makes outright putrid comments about women and he is still forgiven and still a viable candidate for president absolutely disgusts me. I apologize for getting political on your post, but thank you for bringing attention to these issues and for being worried about Cal and for being an advocate for him!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was reading this scene I also got that Cal was being raped, and that not one of the characters (including Cal) acknowledged or even understood that it was rape. I think a lot of factors contributed to Cal’s understanding of what happened that night, especially since he never makes direct commentary on the lack of consent. I think that it was partially due to his age at the time and the fear that he was experiencing because of being intersex. I think that his view of that event was partially skewed by how he recalled fantasizing being Rex having sex with the Object and the event later in the park when the two homeless men sexually assaulted him in a more ‘traditional’ way (meaning the way that rape culture sees rape). It is interesting to see how those events affected him later in life with his relationships with people.
ReplyDeleteThe even sadder thing about this scene is that if this scene had occurred in real life, there would be some people placing the blame on Callie, the victim, for the rape. They would be people arguing that Callie is partially at fault because she placed herself in a vulnerable position (for drinking, for wandering into the woods at night, for being there on double date, for looking provocative, for placing herself on a cot with Jerome, etc). With such consistent and negative focus on the rape VICTIM instead of the RAPIST, it is no wonder that rape victims are scared to speak out and seek help for the horrible crime they have experienced. This situation is sadly similar to the "Tiara" poem we read this week in class. When a gay male died from AIDS, some people said that he "asked for it." AIDS victims do not ask to get AIDS, and rape victims do not ask to get raped.
ReplyDeleteI also thought much about how the rape impacted Cal's adult life. After the rape occurred, he didn't have very much time at all to process what happened and emotionally deal with it before he got his intersexed diagnosis. I also agree with Angela that if Cal had spoken up about the rape, she most likely would have received most of the blame, much like most victims of rape in today's society. "It was her fault for putting her self in the situation." "She was asking for it." "She was drunk." Those are the common phrases used to place the blame on the victim instead of the rapist, even though no one purposely puts their self in the position to be raped, no one asks for it, and just because you're drunk does not mean you deserve to be raped. This is a really sad reality. With all of this being said, no wonder Cal did not speak up. I'm sure this interaction with Jerome was part of the reason why he is so reluctant to have any sort of sexual relationship with Julie, or anyone for that matter. It is probably always in the back of Cal's mind.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that Cal’s situation was a prime example of sexual assault. She went along with Jerome, but she never really wanted it. She only wanted the Obscure Object. The only reason why this situation occurred was because Cal was imagining the Obscure Object with him instead of Jerome. I think the reason why the novel glossed over this example was because of rape culture. Cal diminished the graveness of his experience as many victims do today. Cal may have chosen to not acknowledge his sexual assault to help protect himself form the negative psychological impacts that this situation causes. Or she might have attributed the situation to the alcohol consumption or the fact that Jerome is a boy and has needs. Either way, Cal’s experience with sexual assault was never acknowledged which, unfortunately, may cause negative impacts on his future relationships and self-image.
ReplyDelete