Insight into South Dakota Legislature
This quote by SD State Senator Bill Napoli gives us a great insight into the minds of the legislature's motivation in banning abortion.
The quote validates the old notion that rape is worse when it "robs" a woman of her virginity; if a woman has already had sex, then rape won't be such a big deal to her- sex is sex, and women that have already had sex... well, can they really be raped anyway? Even if they are, do they really feel traumatized afterward? After all, it isn't the violation of a woman's body and her mind, the act of violence that is rape, after all... it is her virginity that matters. The rapist has robbed the future husband of his right to be the one to take the virginity and the right to impregnate, for the first time, his bride.
Another interesting thing about this quote is that you really get the sense that Napoli is fantasizing about the rape. He uses the word "savaged" and the phrase "sodomized as bad as you can possibly make it". He eroticizes the violence that the woman, the ideal dainty virgin dutifully saving herself for marriage, experiences as she is raped. Do normal people still use the word "savaged" to describe rape? What is it about rape that is so attractive? Let's assume Napoli has never raped a woman; what is it then about the rape that would be so erotic to him? If is not the violence inflicted upon the woman, could it be the moment after the rape when the woman, left powerless, violated, and helpless, needs a hero like Napoli to save her and make her whole again. The man plays the role of the benevolent master- she is not perfect anymore, but he loves her anyway and will look past the rape and lost virginity... but she is still a bad girl, and always will be now, so he can do things to her that he couldn't do to the woman who is still complete and untouched...
The following is a quote by South Dakota State Senator Bill Napoli on "The News Hour with Jin Lehrer" in which he explains when exceptions to the law banning abortions might be valid:
"A real-life description to me would be a rape victim, brutally raped, savaged. The girl was a virgin. She was religious. She planned on saving her virginity until she was married. She was brutalized and raped, sodomized as bad as you can possibly make it, and is impregnated. I mean, that girl could be so messed up, physically and psychologically, that carrying that child could very well threaten her life."
The quote validates the old notion that rape is worse when it "robs" a woman of her virginity; if a woman has already had sex, then rape won't be such a big deal to her- sex is sex, and women that have already had sex... well, can they really be raped anyway? Even if they are, do they really feel traumatized afterward? After all, it isn't the violation of a woman's body and her mind, the act of violence that is rape, after all... it is her virginity that matters. The rapist has robbed the future husband of his right to be the one to take the virginity and the right to impregnate, for the first time, his bride.
Another interesting thing about this quote is that you really get the sense that Napoli is fantasizing about the rape. He uses the word "savaged" and the phrase "sodomized as bad as you can possibly make it". He eroticizes the violence that the woman, the ideal dainty virgin dutifully saving herself for marriage, experiences as she is raped. Do normal people still use the word "savaged" to describe rape? What is it about rape that is so attractive? Let's assume Napoli has never raped a woman; what is it then about the rape that would be so erotic to him? If is not the violence inflicted upon the woman, could it be the moment after the rape when the woman, left powerless, violated, and helpless, needs a hero like Napoli to save her and make her whole again. The man plays the role of the benevolent master- she is not perfect anymore, but he loves her anyway and will look past the rape and lost virginity... but she is still a bad girl, and always will be now, so he can do things to her that he couldn't do to the woman who is still complete and untouched...
The following is a quote by South Dakota State Senator Bill Napoli on "The News Hour with Jin Lehrer" in which he explains when exceptions to the law banning abortions might be valid:
"A real-life description to me would be a rape victim, brutally raped, savaged. The girl was a virgin. She was religious. She planned on saving her virginity until she was married. She was brutalized and raped, sodomized as bad as you can possibly make it, and is impregnated. I mean, that girl could be so messed up, physically and psychologically, that carrying that child could very well threaten her life."
posted by thankgodforpbr at 3/16/2006 08:52:00 AM
2 Comments:
I've just seen the tape and there's no doubt about it. Sen Napoli had his hands deep in both pockets the whole time he was recounting his virgin rape fantasy for the cameras. Senator, get a room.
When you get a chance to do some reading for fun check out "Trial by Fire: The True Story of a Woman's Ordeal at the Hands of the Law" by Wyoming trial lawyer Gerry Spence. It's about the libel suit he brought against Penthouse on behalf of Miss Wyoming. There are several stories told at once here. Most interesting to me is how he invokes Andrea Dworkin and the 1487 Malleus Malificarum on the punishment of witches. He argues that the law still treats women as evil sexually menacing beings who deserve punishment. The prose is a bit high handed for some but I really like the way Spence tells a story. No wonder he's such a great litigator.
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