A review by se_wigget
Know My Name by Chanel Miller

dark emotional informative reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

 
Fuck you, fucking piece of fucking shit fucking victim-blaming fucking rape apologists fucking misogynists. You are the fuck devoid of any redeeming quality.  And that fucking includes you, fucking piece of fucking shit Washington fucking Post. 

This is an intense personal account of the author's experience after rape. It has insightful cultural commentary. Make that... shitculture commentary.
 
"Victims are often, automatically, accused of lying. But when a perpetrator is exposed for lying, the stigma doesn't stick. Why is it that we're wary of victims making false accusations, but rarely consider how many men have blatantly lied about, downplayed, or manipulated others to cover their own actions (p. 191)?" 
 
"Nobody earns the right to rape. It is still rape when he is a good swimmer (p. 249)." 
 
Sexual predators as gaslighters: 
"Society [rape culture] gives women the near impossible task of separating harmlessness from danger, the foresight of knowing what some men are capable of. When we call out assault when we hear it, Trump says, I don't think you understand.  Just words. You are overreacting, overly offended, hysterical, rude [projecting], relax!!! So we dismiss threatening statements and warning signs, apologizing for our [nonexistent] paranoia. We go into a party or meeting thinking it's just a party or meeting.  But when we are taken advantage of, and come crawling back damaged, they say, How could you be so naive, you failed to detect danger, let your guard down, what did you think would happen? Trump made it clear the game is rigged, the rules keep changing. It doesn't matter what you think [or know] is assault, because in the end, he [the sexual predator] decides (p. 278)." 
  
"When society questions a victim's reluctance to report, I will be here to remind you that you ask us to sacrifice our sanity to fight outdated structures that were designed to keep us down (p. 288)." 
 
"This is not a out the victim's lack of effort. It's about society's failure to to have systems in place in which victims feel there's a probable chance of achieving safety, justice, and restoration rather than being traumatized, publicly shamed, psychologically tormented, and verbally mauled. The real question we need to be asking is not, Why didn't she report. The question is, Why would you (p. 288)?" 

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