Esquire tweets joke about Strauss-Kahn rape case, immediately apologizes
By Virginia SmithJuly 26th, 2011, 8:45 amComments (12)
On the list of "things that are never okay to joke about ever," rape is generally considered to be pretty high up there. But not for Esquire, apparently!
In the wake of the the first public interview from the woman accusing Dominique Strauss-Kahn of rape, the men's magazine seized the opportunity to tie the news into a handy guide about non-rapey, consensual blowjobs, using this as an intro:
We don't mean to be indelicate, but, well, this whole thing has gotten a little indelicate, hasn't it? In the latest Newsweek, the maid who was allegedly raped by former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn gives a very graphic account of their time together, including some very indecent oral sex. And whomever you believe, that's a tragedy. Because as we've learned over the years from our sex expert, a blowjob need not be degrading or hurtful, for either party.
Then they plugged the article with the following tweet:
When the reading public was immediately offended by the gross tie-in to, you know, a sexual assault case, the magazine deleted the tweet in question as well as the intro to the article, and replaced them with the following:
Hmm. Well, maybe Esquire was really just hilarious and ahead-of-the curve here, but more likely all they did was make an icky and stomach-churning addition to an already icky and stomach-churning story. You decide.
Comments ( 12 )
They apologized for offending people, not for being offensive. There is a big difference.
Very true. The problem is that our society is incapable of recognizing the difference.
George Carlin once said that rape can be funny. I agree.
That tweet was funny =P
I'm sure George Carlin would be on board for a frat boy joke tweeted by an intern creeping behind a desk, especially someone who hasn't taken the time (and probably has no idea how) to craft a thoughtful joke with any message or intention other than "blow job, ha-ha, shock factor, ha-ha." That was pretty much his style. Hopefully you have a great dick and culinary skills, because you are a fucking idiot.
=P
Well done, JenBloomer.
Things are neither funny nor unfunny due to their offensive content (or lack thereof). That tweet just wasn't funny.
George Carlin was an excellent comedian.
Silly Esquire. Didn't they learn anything from The Talks bit about penile mutilation? It's only socially acceptable (and apparaently appropriate for television) for women to make fun of a mans sexual trauma; not the other way around.
I agree that this shouldn't be the way of things; however, it is equally socially acceptable and very prevalent for men to make fun of male sexual trauma. Why not just say that it's terrible all across the board to belittle sexual trauma and call out the people who are doing it when we see it? I just don't want this issue to get posed as Men vs. Women, because it really isn't.
Unfortunately, it's a lot more than sexual trauma. There's less societal outrage when men are killed, maimed, or raped than women. It all goes back to the same patriarchial practices of protecting women like they're helpless children while big, strong men tough out life without feelings or complaints. It sucks, and it's completely unfair.
@bp Late reply, but I wasn't trying to turn it into a Men vs. Women debate. My point was that the clear double standard in some media, including Hooksexup, makes it impossible for me to take this article seriously. I'm fine with the idea that everything is fair game for jokes, but if worshipping women who cut off mens penises needs to be shrugged off, a demand that I get upset about a rape joke a few days later just comes across as very disingenuous.
Honestly, everything is fair game for jokes, as long as you don't attack the victims in the touchy subjects. And as long as it is funny.
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