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Rape jokes weren't funny. Until this feminist website made a bunch of them.
Rape jokes can be funny — when the target is rape culture.
08.19.16
Something truly unique happened recently on the internet: A comedy website made rape jokes that were actually funny.
Reductress is a hilarious, witty, and unapologetically feminist website where writers take on issues like body image, "lady" marketing, fashion, and important moments in culture.
In this case, Reductress was responding to this story: Basically, anonymous female NYC comedians who reported being sexual assaulted by a male comedian were met not with support. Instead, they were faced with doubt, insults, and even deeply offensive jokes at their expense.
<p>For Reductress' <a href="http://jezebel.com/reductress-is-devoting-its-entire-site-to-rape-jokes-th-1785404690" target="_blank">all-female editorial board</a>, enough was enough. </p><h2>On Aug. 17, 2016, Reductress published article after article full of jokes about rape.</h2><p>By the evening, they had filled the entire homepage. </p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image"><img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTQ5ODQ5Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwMTY3OTg4MX0.jUnHcjDvnFKxbs4iXl4tJBAU7JFtgMavxaqZ0yypSjw/img.jpg?width=980" id="5e96e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="98cdb876b07bf44ab29aeabb5e7ac9ed" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image"><small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Image from Aug. 17, 2016, via Reductress.</small></p><p>The stories weren't full of the typical and incredibly hurtful jokes that we often hear, though. Instead, <strong>the jokes pointed out common tropes and misconceptions about rape</strong>, hitting on all the issues that are oh-so-familiar to sexual assault survivors and their allies.</p><p>For example:</p><p><strong>If you're tired of hearing that women are "lying about rape to get attention," </strong>reading <a href="http://reductress.com/post/i-anonymously-reported-my-rape-for-the-anonymous-attention/" target="_blank">"I Anonymously Reported My Rape for the Anonymous Attention"</a> might feel pretty cathartic. </p><p><strong>If you're sick of the reminder that most survivors of sexual assault know their attacker personally,</strong> <a href="http://reductress.com/post/man-who-sexually-assaulted-you-likes-your-facebook-post-about-assault/" target="_blank">"Man who sexually assaulted you likes your Facebook Post about assault"</a> will ring agonizingly true. </p><p><strong>If you're outraged by a justice system that can sometimes seem eager to find fault in sexual assault survivors,</strong> the first paragraph of <a href="http://reductress.com/post/fun-summer-cocktails-when-they-ask-you-well-what-were-you-drinking/" target="_blank">"Fun Summer Cocktails When They Ask You 'Well, What Were You Drinking?'"</a> will fill you up:</p><blockquote>"Summer time and living’s easy! Unless you’re being questioned about a traumatic sexual assault. Luckily, there are refreshing and light cocktails in season, which you can throw back when police, detectives, doctors, friends, and acquaintances ask you, 'Well, what <em>were</em> you drinking that night?'"</blockquote><h2>Not surprisingly, people loved it. </h2><iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" id="twitter-embed-766206494052274177" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-766206494052274177&created_ts=1471512838.0&screen_name=roemcdermott&text=The+%40reductress+homepage+on+rape+culture+is+vicious%2C+necessary+art.+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FtWrPGpzLo7&id=766206494052274177&name=Roe+McDermott" frameborder="0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="O0N7YC1559348563"></iframe><iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" id="twitter-embed-766051160180621313" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-766051160180621313&created_ts=1471475803.0&screen_name=DCpierson&text=The+%40Reductress+%23DismantleTheRapiarchy+issue+is+brilliant+at+every+level%2C+like+this+from+%40annadrezen+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FrNHIjJlZV2&id=766051160180621313&name=DC+Pierson" frameborder="0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="HO8KLW1559348563"></iframe><iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" id="twitter-embed-765930410643714048" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-765930410643714048&created_ts=1471447014.0&screen_name=MaraWilson&text=Very+proud+to+be+part+of+the+%40Reductress+family+today&id=765930410643714048&name=Mara+%E2%80%9CGet+Rid+of+the+Nazis%E2%80%9D+Wilson" frameborder="0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6VJ5EK1559348563"></iframe><h2>Most rape jokes usually have two things in common: They're made at the expense of survivors (who are often female), and the jokes are almost exclusively made by men. </h2><p>Those kind of rape jokes aren't funny to a lot of people, though. For survivors and allies, they can resurface buried trauma. For women, they can be a reminder that <a href="http://www.oneinthreewomen.com/" target="_blank">1 in 3 of us</a> will be sexually assaulted in our lifetimes.</p><p>And, let's be real: For comedy in general, they're pretty darn lazy. As Garry Trudeau ("Doonesbury") <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/04/the-abuse-of-satire/390312/" target="_blank">famously reminded us</a> last year: <strong>The best jokes "punch up," never down. </strong>It's the difference between making fun of a kid who falls over and making fun of the grown man who tripped him. </p><p>Or, in this case, making fun of the culture surrounding rape instead of its victims. </p>
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