Rape is Rape - How Can It Be 'Legitimate'?

By Lauren Green

Congressman Todd Akin has made waves, as in tidal waves, in the US and globally recently following his comments on 'legitimate rape'. His words have led to calls for his resignation from the Senate race, a call I wholeheartedly agree with, and have caused an uproar over the definition of rape, as well as discussions over it's biological and psychological effects.


Akin made the ridiculous claim that a woman's body can 'shut down' to prevent pregnancy following 'legitimate rape'. This, to start with, is biologically ludicrous. By this reasoning, a woman has an in-built on/off switch to control her uterus. So if we were to use Akin's bizarre biology, we could say that we don't need birth control anymore. Women not wishing to get pregnant can simply shut down their entire reproductive system and have as much unprotected sex as they desire. Jumping to the other end of the spectrum, wouldn't this also mean the end to failed attempts at pregnancy? When the time comes, women can just tell themselves that 'now is the time' and along comes a child. IVF must be a cruel ruse. Scarily, you could take this idea of controlling your own reproductive organs with the mere use of your mind to the next level. You could then say that if a pregnancy resulted from rape, that the woman had chosen not to shut down and prevent the child. Does this then mean that the rape was not unwanted and that she was therefore not a victim of rape? It's a thought that is, frankly, disgusting and rather disturbing.


I also take issue with the use of the word 'legitimate'. This is a word that should never be spoken in conjunction with the word rape. Rape is not legitimate nor illegitimate, it is not acceptable and it is not for some American Congressman to stand on his high, misguided horse and make outrageous comments about. If it is non-consensual sex, it is rape. There is nothing more to debate.

It feels prudent to also discuss George Galloway's comments from the past week as well. They're both in the same vein of idiocy after all. Galloway came under fire this week for stating that a man accused of two rapes was merely a victim of 'bad sexual etiquette'. The man in question, Julian Assange, was accused by one of the women for having sex with her whilst she was asleep. He claims that they had already had sex once consensually that evening. This, in Galloway's mind, is 'bad sexual etiquette' and not an all out violation. The pair had already engaged in the 'sex game' and therefore permission was no longer required if he wished to have sex again, due to the fact that they had already had sex once. In fact, he even went so far as to say that permission was not needed 'prior to each insertion'. This is, to put it bluntly, insanely wrong and vile.

Every sexual encounter, 'full' sex or otherwise, should involve both parties consenting. There should be no doubt about that. Both parties consent each and every time and, one would have presumed rather obviously, should be conscious and aware of what is going on. Consenting once earlier in the evening does not give anybody the right to treat the other person like a sexual object, or object at all for that matter, without their permission. If you take it further then it becomes something dark and sinister.

The fact that these kinds of views exist in the world is scary. The really terrifying thing is that these comments are out in the open and being broadcast to a number of impressionable minds, young and old, who soak them up and believe without a second thought. However, the most terrifying thing is that both these comments are from the mouths of men in positions of power - one of whom is attempting to run for the Senate in one of the most powerful and influential countries in the world. His knowledge in comparison to his authority is something close to a newborn being placed at the helm of a nuclear missile.

If he is successful in his quest for Senate, perhaps someone should educate him in the subject of human rights and decency. Or at least write his speeches for him.