Non-Consent, the internet, and my rage

Everyone knows about the leaked celeb photos by now, and if you aren't disgusted by their presence, you should be. If you aren't disgusted by the people sharing them and praising them, you should be. If you aren't disgusted by the people saying "well, they shouldn't have taken any in the first place," you should be.

1. I wish everyone that had tweeted or commented something like "thank god for the person who leaked JLaw's photos" had their tweets autocorrected to add "non-consensual." It's 2014, can we all agree that's a gross word? As funny as you think you are, including non-consent (which is what this is) makes it a little more real, and that's how I read them. I saw one comedian I follow suggest that everyone who tweets about it should have to read those tweets out loud at their wedding. I don't hate that idea either.

2. "well, why did she take any in the first place?" I have two separate responses to this, based on who is asking. If you're the 15 year old boy that's angry you're being made to feel guilty about consuming women with your gross feelings of entitlement, I ask- "That means you'll stop asking, right? If women are so stupid for having naked photos, I assume that means you'll stop nagging for them and understand why we say no." If you're an older person who still hasn't figured out victim blaming, let's just simplify this to a privacy issue and recognize we will never agree on an issue about women and their right to their bodies or sexuality. But where do you keep your tax documents if you file online? That's right, you save them on your computer. Are you asking for the world to see those files because of it?

Now, because the internet is a deeply scary and ugly place and I can no longer read the comment sections regarding any of this, I bring you some safe comments that give me a little hope.

From my friend Kayse (reading Gone Girl will make the point even more poignant:)

I hate the fact that people are like "she'll probably just make a joke about it and laugh it off like she always does," like that makes the whole think excusable. Read: cool girls don't get mad about sexual harassment.

From Laci Green (video blogger, sex educator):

a "leaked nude" is a NON-CONSENSUAL form of sexual violation and ANYBODY who participates by viewing and sharing is part of the problem.

women's bodies are NOT public property. we are human beings and we do not exist for other people's sexual pleasure without our consent. anybody with an ounce of empathy should be horrified and disgusted by this.

From Lena Dunham's twitter:

Seriously, do not forget that the person who stole these pictures and leaked them is not a hacker: they're a sex offender. 

I don't want to talk too much about this and give it more publicity, but this is also an example of how backwards our culture still is and how much more needs to be done. You can also read this blog post that shares my feelings.