Does dressing provocatively lead to rape?

This is a really difficult debate that has been ongoing for years, but has recently been thrust into the media circus by the "slut walks" that have been taking place and the article that Nick Freeman wrote.

I find this  a difficult subject to approach, on one hand as a female I do think that women have the right to dress how they please and should be able to do so without warranting a man to rape her, yet on the other hand it has to be said that in such a sexualised society, it is hardly surprising that when a woman goes out in next to nothing that men presume she is "up for it".

I found the debate on This Morning on Thursday 16th June between Nick Freeman and Denise Robertson and interesting one.  Mr Freeman had previosly written an article saying if girls dressed and act like a slut then they should be expected to be treated like a slut.  What was most entertaining was that The Daily Mail had printed an article which included photographs of his daughter in a very attractive dress but posing provocatively with a champagne bottle - when presented with this photograph he said she looked pretty, I have to wonder if I had been pulling the same pose he would have responded with the same answer or he would have said that I was acting like a slut.

I comletely agree that every woman has the right to say no to sex and that NOTHING warrants a man taking advantage of a girl if she has said no!  However I do think that man girls over sexualise themselves in order to be seen, and it is a procedure that isn't necessary, when you combine this with alcohol and the factthat many girls do not know their own limits it isn't surprising that they get into such situations. 

Many may consider that my friends and I dress provocatively, and don't get me wrong we do like to make an effort and look attractive to the opposite sex, but I would hope that I have never left the house dressed like a slut.  I also think that many girls are aware of the way they dress and the fact that men are looking at them in certain ways, unfortunately I think that in the society we live in it is something that girls should be aware of when getting ready to go out.

I am not sure that there is really a corret answer as to whether or not dressing provocatively leads to rape, I am sure on some level it adds to it,and in a sense girls should be aware that men are more likely to make a sexual advance if women are dressed in such ways - however it is unlikely that it is the main reason.  Research shows that many of those who commit rape have underlying issues and use this method of attack as a way of being in control of a situation.

I think in conclusion I would say that women have the right to dress how they wish without attracting a rapist, however I do think that every woman should take into consideration that the image she may be portraying more for her own self awareness than anything else.

The World Has Gone Mad

If I cast my mind back to last week, I like most of the nation was very excited about the prospect of having yet another bank holiday weekend - never mind what it was for.  In my book, 4 days off for any occasion counts as a result and I was most definitely counting the days.   However as we all know with reward comes sacrifce and like many of us who work in small companies, I was feeling the pressure of fitting five days into three.  Thursday night was soon upon me, and I had managed to get everything cleared off my desk and was looking forward to a weekend of catching up with old friends and beer gardens.

With a 2 hour drive to Birmingham ahead of me, I decided to catch up on some music and switched straight to Radio 1, had I known it was going to be full of Royal Wedding Hype I wouldn't have bothered, but I found myself becoming strangely addicted, especially by the woman who was getting married in a months time and had purchaased 3 wedding dresses just because she liked them all!
Like most of my friends I had declared that I had no interest in the wedding and what a load of rubbish it was, telling my mother for weeks on end that she really needed to get a life.  Plus how would it ever run smoothly, a nice gesture it may have been, but am I the only person who thought William giving Kate his dead mothers, ruined marriage engagement ring was a bad omen?
Arriving at my friends late Thursday evening I was told we would be up early to watch the wedding, ok not my cup of tea but I was in her house and a little part of me wanted to see Kate's dress, after all she is now considered a fashion icon.  Luckily she did not disappoint and looked absolutely stunning as I am sure you will all agree. 
However I didn't move off the sofa once I had seen her dress at 11am, no in fact I sat there for a further 2 hours analysing every aspect of the wedding - guestlist, outfits, The Queen snubbing Camilla, but most of all the hysteria created by the public and media alike.  I couldn't believe how many people were lining the streets, never mind the screaming, the crying, and the media coverage.  Every televison channel, radio station and newspaper were leading with the story - now as far as I am aware nothing much more exciting happened that day, but even so it all seemed a little extreme.  These two young people thrust into public display, the whole nation relying on them to "do us proud" and represent our country.  Yet those who are out there fighting for our country on a daily basis rarely get media coverage, and when they do the majority of it relates to unhappy events. 
Don't get me wrong, it brought people together and as Radio 1's Xane Lowe said "I'm all for it, it's rare in these times that everyone is brought together for something that isn't due to devestation".  I just feel that there would have been better things to spend the Tax Payer's money on, and with the economy in such a poor state an extra working day would have been more beneficial to the Nation. 
I can also see history repeating itself, this beautiful young couple with the world at their feet, being adored by the media and nation, having their every move analysed, only to be torn apart the minute they do something slightly unfavourable - Diana and Charles part 2!!

Government spending cuts

I will be the first to admit that I am not the most keen follower of the nation's politics, however every now and then something catches my attention and causes me to scream at the television.  Today just happened to be one of those days.  It's a rare occasion that I actually choose to watch the news over programmes that my dad would classify as "mindless crap", yet this evening I found myself engrossed in the debate about the housing benefit cap between Campbell Robb, Matthew Sinclair and John Snow on Channel 4's  7 o'clock news.
Having never really been a fan of David Cameron's I rarely agree with much the man has to say, but for once I can see that he is making sense - well at least to me. 
At 21 years old I have graduated from University and have been left with a large sum of debt, something which I have accepted due to the fact its a decision I made in order to open more doors as my life goes on.  Without meaning to look at "the glass half empty" it does appear to me that during no time in the near future am I going to be reaping the benefits of having a degree.  Despite working in a 9-5 office position, and currently searching for a supplementry job I am still unable to afford to move out of my parents home whether it be to rent or to buy.  I'm aware that I am not the only person in  this situation as I watch many of my close friends, and my brother struggle to take that first step onto the property ladder even though they earn a considerably larger amount than i do. On the other hand I also have close friends who are being rewarded by the current benefits system for not having any qualifications or indeed have ever worked a day in their lives.  Yet they live in houses and have lifestyles funded by the tax payer that I can currently only dream of. 
To refer to my reason for writing this current post, I couldn't agree more with the things Matthew Sinclair was saying.  I can't believe that the sole argument from Campbell Robb was that housing benefits should not be cut because it would mean 'real people' having to move out of their homes to less expensive accomodation.  I felt a sense of pride when Matthew Sincair responded with 'commuters are real people too' highlighting that the majority of people commute to work as they live in cheaper accommodation outside of the cities.
When I graduated from University I uprooted from Birmingham to Suffolk then Suffolk to London and finally back to Suffolk in order to be able to work, and yet others seem incapable of deeming this an acceptable thing to do. 
I feel let down by the previous government who have made it all too easy for people  to sit on their backsides and "sponge" off the rest of society.  Yet these same people (many of whom have never worked a day in their life) now have the nerve to moan about how they are going to be hard done by and don't know how they are going to cope.  What right do they have to complain when everything they have is paid for by you and I?  One woman featured on tonight's Channel4 news currently collects £1600 per month in benefits almost double my take home pay.  I can't help but feel I am somehow being "a mug" in that I work hard and yet am gaining very little other than self worth.
In all honesty I think the Government are doing the appropriate thing and maybe the tax payers money could be spent more wisely in educating those who "sponge" off the rest of us.  In no way am I going to feel guilty for those claiming getting less, and I will be seriously disgusted and let down by the Conservative Government should they back down on these current proposals.