Laurah Lukin ran a half marathon earlier this month, and a picture was posted on Facebook of her running the race.
As Laurah began to read the comments posted below her picture, she was stunned at what a male stranger suggested should happen to her, simply for being a female dressed in running attire.
In fact, this man didn’t beat around the bush, he actually suggested she deserved to have the unthinkable happen to her.
Laurah was naturally caught off guard by the comments but responded to his words immediately.
But what did this man say that had Laurah so stunned?
Scary Mommy reported on Laurah’s experience:
“This past Sunday I ran a half marathon.
It was a great day. I raced with my friends. We all ran well. I set a goal for myself and exceeded it. My husband and daughter cheered for me at the finish line.
This morning, I woke up to a notification that I was tagged in a race photo on Facebook. Interested to see how the day had been captured, I clicked it and was left speechless by several comments from a man I do not know.
“That’s because she doesn’t have any da*n clothes on and she’s running for her life…No wonder joggers get raped.”
A complete stranger had the sheer audacity to suggest that because Laurah was dressed in running clothes, she and other joggers deserved to be raped.
As if Laurah was somehow inviting sexual assault? Or asking for it?
Sadly, comments like this from men are not all that uncommon.
There are actually some men who still believe a woman who doesn’t dress how they think she should dress, somehow deserves to be sexually assaulted.
And even worse, comments like the one this man said are so bizarre and so abusive, it often catches women off guard at first, and causes them to question themselves which further leads to more trauma, as women blame themselves.
Scary Mommy continued:
“Laurah was stunned by the comment and decided to respond. “Instantly, my brain started rationalizing and justifying my race outfit,” Laurah wrote on her blog. “It was a race! They are competition briefs! They make me cool and faster! My legs move more freely! They’re funny!”
“Then I paused,” Laurah continued. “I was immediately disappointed that my gut reaction to this man’s horrific comments was to defend my wardrobe choice. After all, there were photos from the race of shirtless men, men in short shorts, men in tight shorts; yet he did not feel motivated to comment on their potential for inviting sexual assault.”
This is exactly whatpredators do, they throw their victims off balance, getting them to second guess themselves, or putting them on the defense to defend their choices.
But Laurah is no victim, and she wasn’t going to let this man’s comment go unaddressed.
She decided to speak out and use this moment as an opportunity to draw attention to what many females face on an everyday basis, and show women everywhere they don’t have to be treated like this.
While some people criticized Laurah for speaking out, claiming it wasn’t a big deal, or stating she should just ignore this man’s comments, Laurah would not be silenced.
In fact, she doubled down her defense.
Scary Mommy continued:
“I do not want my daughter to grow up in a society that normalizes behaviors like victim blaming, sexual objectification, and the trivialization of sexual assault,” Lukin says. “To change this culture, I know I cannot roll my eyes, or ignore comments that place the responsibility of rape on the choices or behavior of the victims. I cannot be concerned as coming across as a frail, oversensitive “snowflake,” when people mock the seriousness of rape culture.
“I hope that by speaking out, others will be encouraged to speak out as well and help change that culture,” she told us. “Because with enough snowflakes, you can cause an avalanche that transforms the landscape.”
Laurah took a stand for females everywhere, by standing up to this man’s derogatory comments.
It’s wrong for men to think they have the right to speak to women this way, and to even suggest a woman ever deserves to be sexually assaulted.
What do you think of this man’s comments regarding Laurah’s race attire?
Do you think a woman ever deserves to be raped or sexually assaulted, based on her attire?
Tell us yourthoughts in the comments section below.