Are Women to Blame when they Are Sexually Victimized? : Eryka Badu’s Controversial Statements

By: Evette Champion

Erykah Badu is making waves in light of her Twitter rant this week. Badu’s commentary on the rape culture in this country and she agreed with an article that discussed a schools decision to require young women to wear longer skirts so that straight male teachers would not get “distracted.” She feels that this would be fair for everyone.

She went on to say that men absolutely have control over themselves and there should not be any excuse why they couldn’t stay in control. She continued to say that because we are a socially driven society, it can prove a challenge for men to exercise restraint.

When someone pointed out that women were punished more harshly for embracing their sexuality then men are, she said that, “Punishment is perspective.”’

People on social media find her stance on the topic upsetting, but when you take into consideration that she called R. Kelly her “brother” at the 2015 Soul Train Awards, even when there are countless records of him preying on under aged black girls (true, he has never been found guilty of any of the crimes against him, but once the public thinks something about you, you can never get away from that public opinion).

In this rape-culture society we live in, young women are often held accountable for the sexual violence committed against them by men. However, why? Why can’t we teach our sons that a woman (or a girl) is not for their amusement and they cannot take advantage of them simply because they may be showing a bit of leg or their neckline reveals a bit of cleavage. Why can’t we teach our sons to respect a woman and treat her with dignity and respect?

Of course, with that said, we also need to teach our daughters to treat themselves with dignity and respect. While they should wear what they want to, we need to teach them that less is more and they needn’t wear next to nothing in an effort to get a man’s attention.

Perhaps instead of placing blame on any one gender, we should teach our children to respect each other at all times.