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Does "No" Really Mean "Yes"?

In the course of a relationship, a couple might engage in sexual intercourse. In a perfect world, they would both agree to it and be able to stop anytime they liked. We are not in a perfect world. Many people are forced to participate in sex, and it can often be violent. This rape is most common between people who do not know each other, but can be between two people who are already in a relationship.

In the novel, Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison, First Corinthians, the sister of the main character, Milkman, is in a relationship with a man named Henry Porter. One night, he takes her to his house and they lie on a bed together. Then Porter "turned over and parted her legs with his" in an attempt to start sexual intercourse. Seeing where this was going, and feeling very uncomfortable with it, Corinthians says "No", four times. To this, Porter replies, " Oh, yes. This is for you", and goes on to rape her. 

Some may say that this wasn't rape, and I can see where they are coming from. I looked up the rape laws during the 1950's, the time period they lived in, and found that rape was only rape if there was an extensive use of violence on the perpetrators part. According to this information, Corinthians was not raped, at least according to the former law. The law we have today, however, says something completely different. According to the Department of Justice, the 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 the consent of the victim” (United States Department of Justice Archives). The crucial part of this definition is when it says "without the consent of the victim". Conforming to the laws of today, what happened to Corinthians is definitely rape. If any person is relying on old law to try and say that this wasn't anything but rape, they are terribly misinformed.

Now we can answer the question relating to "No" meaning "Yes" and definitely say that no means no, and anyone that thinks any different is completely misguided and I will go even further to say that they are criminals. Rape will never be acceptable, ever.

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 19, 2017 at 3:53 PM

    I really like how you dig deeper into this scene. While reading I was a little lost and confused but this post really helped me make sense of the situation. Very great post xander !

    ReplyDelete

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