Normally I’m with Linda Smith on this*

anatomical diagram

Australian MP Bob Such has claimed that women wearing certain tshirts are encouraging sex attacks (he doesn’t seem to specify whether against themselves or other women) and demeaning their sex. According to him “some clothing could lead to men losing respect for women” (he proposes I guess that sexual attackers have any respect for women in the first place.

His comments were made during a debate on legislation to reform rape laws.

His major problem seems to be that certain comments draw attention to breasts – naturally I’d point out that for many women having breasts tends to draw attention to breast whether emblazoned or not.

Thankfully there are voices of sanity:

Pat Mickan, who was yesterday appointed the chair of the Premier’s Council for Women, said everyone had the right to be safe, regardless of how they dressed.

“There is never a case for a man to assault or rape a woman at any time. There is never any justification for that, regardless of the way in which she is dressed,” she said.

From Herald Sun

More worryingly, for the speaker of the South Australian Parliament, he argued that it wasn’t rape if a woman initially consented to penetration and then withdrew her consent but the man continued anyway. So basically, women, according to Bob Such if you say no around the time of penetration it doesn’t count as not consenting. According to him he:

“finds it hard to understand how, if intercourse is underway someone can say “stop the world I want you to get off” and how that is really a reasonable action that could result in someone being charged with rape.”

From Herald Sun

Well Mr Such that’s because, unbelievable, an erect penis does not need to ejaculate, a man doesn’t die if he doesn’t and he certainly doesn’t need to ejaculate inside a woman’s body. Most men find it absolutely fine to stop during intercourse, withdraw and either masturbate or wait for the erection to go down. Its called self-control and is what Liberals define as part of what distinguishes us from animals. Given that many women don’t climax through penetration it’s surely only akin to what most women do anyway – find other ways of stimulating themselves to orgasm. Any doubts left in your mind can be addressed with your General Practitioner who I am sure has some nice diagrams.

* Thatcher banned the use of the voices and images of alleged IRA members to “prevent terrorists having the oxygen of publicity”; on a different issue Linda Smith said a better tactic would be to prevent them having the oxygen of oxygen.