Trigger Warnings: Discussion of comments referencing rape and paedophilia.
I'm a UFC fan. I'm also a feminist. I also like Jameson whisky, pandas and getting tattooed. None of that is relevant to what I'm about to blog about, but some people get scared off by the words UFC or feminist, so I figured I'd throw in some random facts. Besides, who doesn't love pandas?
Recently, there has been a lot of discussion about comments three UFC fighters have made, two on Twitter, one at a Press Conference promoting UFC 140. The two on Twitter involved rape, the one at the Press Conference involved paedophilia.
The first comment came from Forrest Griffin on Twitter: "Rape is the new missionary". Not funny at all. The thing is, it wasn't supposed to be a joke. Forrest made that comment after seeing the amount of high profile rape cases in the media. Was it a stupid comment? Oh hell yes. Was it insensitive? Yes. Should he have tweeted it? No. Not at all. Since then, he toured a Rape Crisis Centre, apologised and made a donation to the Rape Crisis Centre. I am in no way excusing what Forrest said. It was a stupid comment. But it wasn't meant to be a joke.
The second comment came from Rashad Evans at the UFC 140 Press Conference: “I'm gonna put these hands on you worse than that dude did to them other kids at Penn State”. Again, not funny at all. Not even good trash talk, if I'm honest. Abuse jokes? Not funny. Referencing rape of children while trash talking the dude you want to beat up? Not funny. Also a little weird. Rashad has not been fined, suspended, or fired. Dana White said this in response to Rashad's comments: "You know, he said something stupid. It's probably one of the dumbest things you could say. He gets it, and he knows it was a stupid thing to say" Is that enough? In my opinion, probably not. If you want to make topical references at a Press Conference, there are less offensive things to say. Considering Rashad is a father, it baffles me that he thinks it's ok to reference child rape while trash talking at a Press Conference. While Dana's comments are decent, it's not his job to apologise for his fighter's dumbass comments. They're grown men. They should man up and realise when they've done something wrong.
The third comment came from Miguel Torres on Twitter: “If a rape van was called a surprise van more women wouldn’t mind going for rides in them. Everyone like surprises.”. Not funny. So not funny I can't even express it. He's since offered the explanation that it's a quote from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Still not ok. Rape jokes are not funny. They're not funny on television, they're not funny when you're quoting them on Twitter. There's a basic rule of comedy: if you have to explain why something is funny, it's not funny. Dana White's response was to fire him immediately and say this: “It’s to the point now where, there’s going be times when things happen and mistakes are made. I cannot defend Miguel Torres. I cannot defend what he said. What he said makes no sense other than when he says, “It was a joke.” Well, I don’t think that’s a funny joke. I think it’s disturbing.” It's for this I congratulate Dana.
Unlike Forrest's comment (ill-judged attempt at social commentary) and Rashad's comment (inappropriate trash talking), Miguel's comment was meant to be a joke. He was watching a TV show and found that particular line funny enough that he wanted to tweet it. That's just disgusting. Rape jokes are not funny. Rape jokes are not funny on the television, rape jokes are not funny on twitter. Rape jokes are never funny.
I know that I come at this differently because I am a woman. Men, who make up the majority of UFC's audience, do not have to deal with rape in the same way that women do. Men don't have to worry if what they're wearing will make people think they were "asking for it". Men don't have to worry if they drink too much they'll be sexually attacked. Men don't have to worry that they could be walking down the road at night and suddenly get sexually attacked by a stranger. Women have to worry about that, all the time. We are told how to act, what to wear, how much to drink, not to walk down dark streets, not to get into cabs, not to lead men on but men are never told not to rape. They're never told; don't commit rape.
This is the culture women have to live in. This is the culture in which rape jokes exist. This is the culture where people are defending Miguel Torres for what he said.
Earlier this year I was attacked while walking home. I wasn't raped, but I was groped by drunk men. Rape jokes contribute to the culture that makes those men think their actions were acceptable.
I've been told on Twitter that "fans like me are going to ruin UFC". I genuinely find it funny. I've been a UFC fan for years, before it started gaining the mainstream attention it has now, before it was 'cool' for women to like it. I was one of a handful of women at the UFC Expo in London last year. I don't say this to make me sound like a special snowflake, I just say it to make you all understand that I love this sport. It gives me a rush of excitement like no other. I want to be able to enjoy UFC without having to deal with rape jokes from fighters. I want UFC to become a shining example worldwide of MMA with a decent reputation. I don't want to have to defend my love of the sport as a woman because some fighters and fans cannot wrap their head around why rape jokes are not funny.
xo
