Rape culture post of the day

Actual Stuff/The Press headline:

Man denies sex with ‘pretty hot’ 13-year-old

… I guess we should just be thankful that he’s arguing his innocence on the basis of the sex act rape not actually taking place, rather than relying on her “hotness” to override basic common sense and that pesky age-of-consent thing.

But he still had to mention she was “pretty hot”.  And Stuff still decided to put this in the headline of their story.

So we shouldn’t really be thankful at all.

H/T Lew on Twitter.

3 comments

  1. MJ

    Also, the fact that if it did happen, it’s still rape (of the statutory variety at the VERY LEAST) and not “had sex with”. But, um, “Man Denies Raping 13-Year-Old” is apparently not a good headline or something?

  2. K

    Part of the story alludes to the 13y’o having a crush on him. At first I thought it was being used as an excuse (ie girl has crush on grown man, therefore it doesn’t make it quite so illegal to have underage sex and isn’t real abuse….and therefore we the media aren’t even going to use the word rape).

    “Who is this prick of a lawyer!”, I muttered. Then I realised he was the prosecution, although it isn’t clear if he is on the victim’s side.