'I Was Raped' Shirt Another Fashion Misdemeanor by Shocking Designer

Women Suffer Loss of Trust and Innocence and All They Get is a Lousy T-shirt

You've seen slogans on t-shirts that read "my dad went to Disneyland and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" or some such sentiments. Women's informational website Scarletteen is selling a t-shirt with the message "I was raped." It is causing controversy and some women's advocates are vociferous in their allegations that it could cause more harm than actually do good.

Brought to you by Jennifer Baumgardner, women's rights activist with an in your face mentality, this shirt is a follow up to her bold statement made with the "I had an Abortion" t-shirt she championed in 2003. Her reasons for crafting the shirt are compelling: she seeks to encourage strong women to put themselves out there to let those suffering in silence in the aftermath of rape know that they are not alone.

Similarly, it is an opening for a conversation while at the same time taking the shame away from the woman who was victimized and instead places it back onto the perpetrator (where it belongs). Ms. Baumgardner also declares that justice is a far cry from being meted out in the aftermath of rape and in many ways this shirt is a step to affecting personal justice by not hiding the crime from those in the victim's circle of influence.

As someone whose dearest friend was the victim of date rape, I must honestly say that while I applaud Ms. Baumgardner for her extravert bravery if she wishes to wear this shirt to make a personal statement about her own experience and how she is dealing with it, I am mortified by the somewhat ill conceived notion that women in general should consider wearing it.

Although my friend has dealt with the experience, she is affronted at the prospect of wearing such a t-shirt to show her support for rape victims, and although an active feminist sees this as a gigantic step backwards. Interestingly, in her view her disgust over the shirt has nothing to do with personal shame or guilt but instead everything with cheapening the crime by more or less issuing a cattle call for liberated women to "prove" their feminism with donning an "I was Raped" t-shirt.