An NFL Player Stands Up to Rape and Gives a Lesson in Consent

[eridani]

http://www.thenation.com/article/nfl-player-stands-up-to-rape-and-gives-a-lesson-in-consent/

 “Man Up,” an essay by Detroit Lions linebacker DeAndre Levy, is one such bull’s eye. An implicit indictment of the league that employs its author, it is about as crystal clear an exposition that you can read about sexual assault and the ways that toxic concepts of “manhood” feed a culture that normalizes rape. As Levy writes, “It’s truly astounding how many awful things that occur in this world because men are afraid of appearing weak.… So what’s the opposite of weakness? Power. And oftentimes, how powerful a man is is directly associated with his sexual exploits. And that’s what I’d like to discuss.”

Discuss it he does, and in great detail. The importance of the piece is that Levy indicts the sports world without making it sound like this is a problem that’s somehow particular to sports. He writes:

The dehumanization and objectification of women are not issues that are specific to male athletes. They are societal problems. But they tend to be more associated with athletes in part because we are often idolized because of our athletic ability. In many ways, we’re considered models of masculinity, which is at the very root of a lot of these issues. So in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, I want to use my platform as an NFL linebacker to discuss how we talk about rape and sexual assault—because not enough men are.

 Levy goes on to say that the solution to sexual assault lies not with victim blaming but with the actions of men:

The focus always seems to be on teaching young women how not to get raped and on what steps they can take to “stay safe.” But why are we not also focused on educating young men about the definition of consent and what constitutes rape? We’re essentially dealing with the problem by telling women to be more careful. And that’s bullshit…. It’s important for men, especially in a hyper-masculine culture that breeds so many assholes, to stand up and challenge the values that have been passed down to us.