It was surprising how many people were at the University of Victoria’s Farquhar Auditorium when I arrived to see Laci Green speak last night. The line of people waiting to get into the auditorium was so long it doubled back to the doors of the room. I was quite literally within comfortable speaking distance of the ticket attendant even though I was at the back of the line.
I had seen a few of Green’s YouTube videos online before this event, and thought they were well done, informative, frank, and quite funny. Green, who hosts for MTV’s YouTube channel Braless, is a self-proclaimed sex-education activist; she approaches the topic of sexuality in a fun and educational style.
Green, who holds a certificate for date violence and rape crisis counseling, tackled the really big, heavy topic of rape culture well with a prepared, lecture-style presentation. It seemed like she rushed a bit, but I’m guessing she normally has more time allotted for her talks than the hour she got at UVic.
Her presentation was very much a campaign to bring awareness to the issue of rape culture. She broke down the culture of rape into four components: tolerance, victim blaming, gender roles, and trivializing. Unfortunately, much of the information in her lecture was based on US statistics (although still interesting: for example, she mentioned that the most vulnerable citizens are disabled women, with one in three reporting sexual assault).
It was clear that the audience in attendance was fully engaged; there was a moment when Green was talking about how girls and women who are sexual-assault victims are blamed for what happened and asked the crowd what they had been taught as girls to avoid rape. My first thought was, “I was never taught anything to avoid rape.” Then the audience started yelling out all the things I had actually been taught over the years. Don’t wear a ponytail; don’t wear provocative clothing; don’t wear makeup; don’t drink; don’t walk alone. There were many more; it was a very powerful moment.
She also talked about how men and boys very rarely report sexual assault, and if they do they are usually not taken seriously. So, while women and girls are accused of being whores if they are assaulted, men and boys are ignored.
The bottom line, according to Green, is that rape culture and the threat or act of rape is about sexual domination and a way to exert power and control over someone else. It comes down to equality; we still have a long way to go.