MovieChat Forums > The Woodsman (2005) Discussion > This Subject Is Incredibly Dicey

This Subject Is Incredibly Dicey


The subject being sexual abuse, particularly child sexual abuse. Let me say that I do not condone this in any way. But there are gray areas there that no one wants to look at. I'll probably infuriate you with what I'm about to say.

In the wrong circumstances, i.e when you're an innocent and unprepared child, or when it is forced on you, sex can shatter a person's mind with mental illness. Practically everyone respects this.

But sex is also a biological need and life's ultimate pleasure, the denial of which is its own type of abuse. Practically no one respects this.

Our overwhelming taboo around sexual abuse arises from thousands of years of the instinctual urge to protect the child-bearers of the tribe from harm, and from having inferior offspring.

Our knee-jerk acceptance of male victims of violence arises from thousands of years of an instinctual contempt towards men we perceive as weak.

That's why sexual abuse of little girls is perceived as more serious than sexually abusing little boys. That's why Porky Pig raping Elmer Fudd is funny, while Goofy raping Minnie Mouse is kind of disturbing.

I say this not to be all edgy and woke about law of the jungle, I say it to illuminate how dumb it is. There's a time and place for toughening people up, but we're not living in ancient Sparta any more.

Child sexual abuse and rape is taboo for a reason, a GOOD reason, but sexual abuse in general is on an inappropriately high pedestal in our time and place. Most of the taboo arises not from true altruism or compassion, but from the same primitive place that condoned slavery and Jim Crow. "Me hurting strange people from other tribe make me and my tribe feel powerful."

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Its a depressive and frustratingly complex world we live in and have lived in. Sigh, what else to say?

Also, its interesting how none of those people ever decided to look at this issue in black and white simple good versus evil terms whereas for instance certain people in my corners and messages I've read from others online, spoke of this matter as being highly evil with the perpetrators to blame and despise, even with all those other bits of info. at hand.

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Whatever else one makes of this, it's definitely *not* 'woke'. You can rest assured about that...

In fact, some people might, reasonably, suggest that you're minimising sexual assault, particularly towards girls/women, which, suffice to say, most definitely *isn't* 'woke'.

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