The following is a guest post by Soror K:
I recently read an article about The Catholic University of America, a university that separates men and women into different dormitory buildings to keep them from engaging in sexual activities. There is a strong anti-sex and even anti-masturbation policy at this university. The result was that, upon the sexual assault of one girl by a group of freshmen boys, the school had to change the way they handled sexual assault. Gang rape and masturbation, it turns out, incurred equal punishments.
You can see the obvious problem here, when sexuality itself is so stigmatized that sexual assault doesn't receive the attention it deserves. Not only does sex-negativity in a society blur the line between sexual assault and sex, it creates an environment where people are not able to express their sexuality safely. It does so by putting sex and sexual assault in the same category, both being “bad activities,” and makes sources for accurate sexual information scarce, leaving kids to pornography and television to learn about sex.
Even in less radical institutions such as the public school systems in America, many kids and teens are provided sexual education that focuses on abstinence. When the emphasis of our education is on abstinence, the concept of consent becomes deemphasized.
This is probably a large part of the reason why sexual assault is taken so lightly in certain circumstances. If the person wasn't dressed conservatively enough, had a job in sex industry, or was “behaving recklessly,” the blame is often put on the victim instead of the perpetrator. This is especially the case for female sex workers, who are very likely to be assaulted on the job.
When assaults of this nature are reported, excuses are usually made for the aggressor. The mindset seems to be that since the victim is already doing a “bad thing” what does it matter if another “bad thing” happens? This view completely ignores the need for the personal sovereignty and individual freedom that assault takes away, and creates a culture where a high number of sexual assaults go unreported.
This problem calls for an entirely new perspective on sexuality, one that is mirrored in both the philosophy of Thelema and the sex positive movement. We can no longer believe promiscuity to be an invitation for assault. We cannot attach morality to other people's sex lives because doing so opens up one's personal sexual expression to public scrutiny. We cannot slut-shame or bash people on the sole basis of how much sex they have.
The act of rape should be completely separated in the public mind from consensual sexual acts because it is a crime against personal sovereignty and individual freedom. People who commit acts of rape should be charged on the basis of committing one of the most deplorable acts against human rights. Not because “sex is dirty,” not because “they stole someone's innocence,” or because “they couldn't control their lust.” These ideas, while attempting to stigmatize rape, all attach negative connotations to consensual sexual acts and therefore do not get to the root of the problem.
In Aleister Crowley's commentary on The Book of the Law, he briefly discusses a new concept of sexual freedom:
Every one should discover, by experience of every kind, the extent and intention of his own sexual Universe [...] All details are equally likely to be of the essence of his personal plan, all equally ‘right’ in themselves, his own choice of the one as correct as, and independent of, his neighbour’s preference for the other. He must not be ashamed or afraid of being homosexual if he happens to be so at heart; he must not attempt to violate his own true nature because public opinion, or mediaeval morality, or prejudice would wish he were otherwise.
--Commentary to The Book of the Law, I:51
The use of “He” in the above quote is, of course, gender neutral. This “law” applies to everyone and is an important aspect of the Law of Thelema, which is “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.”
As is explained in other pages on this blog, the Law of Thelema is a law focused not only on freedom, but the self-imposed limitations inherent to that freedom. To put it simply, "do what thou wilt" does not mean “do what you want.” “Wilt” is an expression referring to the True Will, or the untainted expression of the human “soul.” It requires pure liberty for each individual, something which requires freedom from external interference.
In a world so regulated and controlled by various authorities, it can be hard to understand how individual liberty is actually “the strictest possible bond.” (See Liber II, "The Message of the Master Therion") It can be difficult to realize that a focus on human rights and freedom are the only way for rape to be seen for what it is. It is of no importance if a rape victim was a virgin or a sex worker, the crime is equal in the eyes of a world whose law is centered on liberty. This idea is further summarized by Crowley later in the Commentary on the Book of the Law:
...every man, and every woman, and every intermediately-sexed individual, shall be absolutely free to interpret and communicate Self by means of any sexual practices soever [...] provided only that all parties to any act are fully aware of all implications and responsibilities thereof, and heartily agree thereto.
--Commentary to The Book of the Law
As obvious as this quote may seem, it is actually promoting an idea that is in stark contrast to our culture's current way of handling sexuality. We live in a society where women's access to contraceptives is seen as a political controversy, where a person wishing to board an airplane is subject to a series of violating searches first. We live in a culture where certain groups exercising control over other people's bodies is normal and the privacy and sovereignty of the individual are last in line to be considered.
If one truly desires for this rape apologist culture to be changed, our fear of freedom and sex needs to be changed too. What once was feared and taboo must be replaced with scientific curiosity. As a culture, we must exchange slut-shaming with a reverence for sexual freedom and replace our abstinence-only education with a paradigm that focuses on harm-reduction. The Catholic University of America may have changed its policies, but sexual assault is still widespread in our culture and is still being swept under the dirty rug of sexual shame.
