Kevin Smith's Black Cat Has a Deep Dark Secret
You simply cannot get away from story after story of sexual abuse in the media. Last month the focus was on the horrific details of the gang rape of an 11 year old girl in Texas . There seems to always be one story after another of a young altar boy who finally tells the truth. This month it was about a Catholic Priest who repeatedly raped a young boy in the confessional many years ago and it is only now revealed.
As a mother, I try to keep my young daughters informed about important and often challenging issues, but this is one topic that I protect them from, as much as possible. Or at least that was my intention. But recently, my 10 and 7 year old daughters and I were at the bookstore, scanning through a beautifully illustrated book featuring the stories behind some of the most famous comic book super heroes. The girls immediately turned to the spread on a female heroine named The Black Cat and my youngest began reading out loud. To my shock, the story behind Black Cat's strength and desire to fight against evil did not evolve out of the good of her heart, but rather in reaction to getting date raped while she was at college! And it was right there in print.
As my youngest daughter misread the word rape (pronouncing it rap), she asked what it meant, adding: "I mean it must have been something really terrible if it made her so sad and mad after that." What to do? I have never been one to deny my girls the truth, but in this case, I candy- coated the definition of rape. I explained that it was an act of violence where one person forces another person to do something against their will. I stressed the seriousness of this crime and that people get sent to prison for this. I took a deep breath and hoped that my definition was sufficient - at least for now. She looked up at me and, with her logical mind in tact, she said, "When that guy did that to The Black Cat in College, why didn't she just rap him right back?"
How to explain my way out of that question? I really did not know what to say, but was able to divert her attention temporarily until another book caught her eye. But the incident and the topic reminded me how important it is not to forget the rampant existence of rape in society today. To keep us vigilant and provide us with relevant information to communicate to our sons and daughters, I began to look around for facts and figures. Not only the stats as they pertain to rape victims overall but specifically what kind of statistics are available about women who rape men. This is what I found out:
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