Tuesday, 1 November 2011

A Very Tricky Subject...

Now I know I'm taking a risk with this blog, but I still felt it was worth writing. I want to talk about rape and the use of language around the subject. I'm very aware this is a difficult subject and especially for a man to write about, but I don't mean any offence by the blog but just feel strongly that modern society is going in the wrong way about discussing this and that the over use of the term is in fact desensitising the world to the real horrors that exist.

I read an interesting article by Barbara Ellen in the Guardian online today entitled "Rape: let's take more care when we talk about it" and it really made me think. I agree with all of it, and then I started thinking about my personal life and then I was struck by a term that seems to be being used more and more in society, and especially the student community: Facebook Rape, or Frape.

Now this is a term that I hate! And having read the article above I was even more outraged by the use of the term Frape. I registered the scorn of people over the slip ups from celebrities misusing the term and comparing the press and photographers to being like rape. However surely the use of the term in relation to changing a profile picture or a status is even worse!

Ok so it's annoying when someone messes with your online self, but I think society needs to move away from the term as it could be the beginning of a very slippery road. The constant use of it and assigning it to something so trivial is dampening the meaning of the word, especially for future generations, who use Facebook even more than ever!


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Location:Lewes Rd,Brighton,United Kingdom

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1 comment:

  1. Anonymous1 November 2011 at 15:17

    Hi ed, I agree that this is a tricky subject and thank you for posting such a thought provoking topic but I think that the evolution of language and the way in which people use words outweighs their meaning.

    Obviously rape is a horrific thing and should never be taken lightly in anyway but as we've seen with the word 'Mong' in recent weeks with regard to Ricky Gervais, it is in the very nature of language to desensitise words for everyday use. I dont think it is viable to ask that people do not use this word anymore in this new format and if anything, arguments to this effect fuel its incorrect usage.

    Secondly, could we ask Shakespeare or a more modern day writer to not use that word in his or her expression? It could be argued that Facebook and twitter are modern day mass expressions of art from the public.

    What is important to me is the act itself not becoming something of comedy culture. The act is the disgrace, not the word.

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