Words by Sinope

Couple of things:

1. Why the scare quotes around survivor as a descriptor? It's a common adjective used to describe folks who aren't viewing themselves as victims of assault and/or trauma. In fact I identify as a survivor, not out of some need to attain socially-correct linguistic status, but rather because I thrive in spite of what has occurred in my life. Make sense? Please help me understand why that's a negative and worthy of scare quotes?

2. I didn't read this article as geared at survivors at all. I believe that our personal experiences provide a lens through which we view things, written or otherwise, and perhaps that's what's happening here. Rather, I believe this post addresses the social inequalities that do in fact exist between men and women and how men can help be better allies to women with regards to respect of personal autonomy. This is important regardless of whether someone is a survivor, victim, or not.

And if you claim inequalities do not exist between men and women, then we have not much else to talk about - considering it's a fundamental position of how I and allies working to built sexually empowered yet safe and consensual spaces operate. Not only that, but privilege exists within ability, socio-economic status, race, age, etc.etc.etc.