My Rapist’s Imaginary Tragic Backstory
Upon first telling my story publicly in June 2008, I was quickly confronted with a ridiculous idea. Internet activists arrogantly informed me that my female rapist couldn’t have done what she did to me without being damaged herself. Rather than showing me empathy, they urged me to show her empathy and focus on her alleged, completely manufactured trauma instead of my own:
- I was informed that I was being too hard on her and she wasn’t responsible for her actions. A man must have hurt her first. Clearly, he was the real villain.
- I wasn’t raped by a woman. A man made her do it by hurting her first.
- Talking about my own rape was distracting from the “real problem”. My rapist was just another victim “acting out”. I should be kinder to her. I owed it to her.
Despite zero evidence of my rapist’s alleged tragic backstory, mostly younger, white female activists repeatedly urged me to invent one for her. It was clear they could not comprehend her actions. Attention needed to be redirected away from her and back onto a hypothetical man to blame.
Smug, incompetent, toxic activists are literally the fucking worst.
