Rape: "We Must Deny It A Future"

Brownmiller's article within The Essential Feminist Reader was a very powerful piece. She discusses the history of rape and people's views on it today. I had strong emotions while reading the article because I find rape a complicated issue. Let me premise what I'm about to say, by first saying that I think it is an awful act of supremacy that (most often) men inflict upon women and there is no excuse for it. However, I think it is such a sensitive act that people for the  most part don't talk about it on a serious level sometimes and neglect what a heavy issue it is. Brownmiller brings up this point as well as she discusses rape when she talks about various ignorant ideas that revolve around this crime. For example she mentions how law professors make the claim sometimes that "You can't thread a moving needle" which of course insinuates that a women can't be raped against her will (which is absolutely absurd). Then the ever so popular defense of an accused rapist, that is, "She was asking for it". Trust me, no woman ever seeks to be raped or has it on her list of things to do. Although it is sad that these claims are floating around in our world, some people truly believe them and thus do not understand the drastic-ness of such an act. Until we come together and a human race and cohesively acknowledge the horror that rape really is, it will exist eternally. So like Brownmiller writes, "My purpose in this book has been to give rape its history. Now we must deny it a future."