This rapist was just a “good person who made a horrible decision”? F that!

Michael Philbin, 18, son of the Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, was sentenced to 6 months of prison and 2 1/2 years of probation for raping two young women. At a house party last August, Philbin, then 17, raped a 16 year old female who was drunk and passed out on his parents’ bed, and then joined another 17 year old male to force another 16 year old female to perform oral sex.

Philbin says that he is “ashamed” and “embarrassed” and apologized for his actions, saying “I would take them all back if I could.” Great, trying to pull the whole feel bad for me, I was accused of rape! thing? Well then maybe you shouldn’t have raped anyone, that way you would have nothing to be “ashamed” and “embarrassed” about.

Brown County Circuit Court Judge Sue Bischel said that “Philbin was a good person who made a horrible decision.” Making a “horrible decision” to rape two people doesn’t excuse or erase the fact that you are a rapist. I don’t care if you’re the son of some important sports person, you’re still a rapist and should be held accountable for your crimes.

It infuriates me what a light sentence Bischel gave Philbin. 6 months is a small sentence, but Bischel also allowed him to “have work and school release privileges and to accrue good time.” This means that if he obeys jail rules he can be released in 4 1/2 months instead of serving the 6 months that he was sentenced to, thus reducing  his already short sentence.

Bischel also said that Philbin could petition to have the misdemeanor removed from his permanent record after his probation ended and that he didn’t have to register as a sex offender because it was “not appropriate” and “excessive punishment.”

Utterly disgusting. First of all, rape is not a misdemeanor. Secondly, registering as a sex offender is “not appropriate” and “excessive punishment”?!!! Isn’t raping two women “not appropriate” and “excessive”? I will never understand why people quickly rush to the defense of rapists. Thank you victim-blaming rape culture for all the bullshit we have to put up with.

What’s also disturbing is how the article that describes the story does not mention the word “rape” even once:

- The title of the article is “Philbin’s son, 18, gets 6 months in underage sex case”

It’s not an underage sex case! It’s rape!

- “An 18-year-old man was sentenced today to six months in jail and 2 ½ years of probation for having sex with two drunken 16-year-old girls at an Aug. 21 house party”, “Philbin had sex with one girl after she passed out and was placed on his parent’s bed.”

Um, excuse me but you don’t have sex with a girl who is passed out and unconscious. That is called rape my friend.

- “Reading from a pre-sentence report, Bischel said Philbin acknowledged that he took advantage of the girls knowing they had too much to drink.”

Again, please call it what it is: RAPE. Not having sex, not taking advantage of, just rape.

I am writhing in fury.

“Corrective rape” my ass!

Eudy Simelane was one of the leading players of South Africa’s national female football squad. She was also an out lesbian and an equality rights campaigner. Last April, she was brutally murdered. She was gang-raped, beaten and then stabbed 25 times in her face, chest, and legs.

The Daily Mail reports that this one case gained prominence, but countless women in South Africa are victims of homophobic brutality, murder and “corrective rape” that will supposedly un-lesbian them and make them straight. An LGBTQ rights organization, Triangle, deals with approximately 10 cases of “corrective rape” every week. Despite all this homophobic sexual violence, the South African government refuses to prioritize prosecuting hate crimes as such.

Laura Turquet, the women’s rights coordinator for NGO ActionAid has said:

So-called  “corrective” rape is yet another grotesque manifestation of violence against  women, the most widespread human rights violation in the world today. These  crimes continue unabated and with impunity, while governments simply turn a  blind eye.

It is mindblowingly ridiculous to think that any form of rape can be “corrective” and that it can “cure” sexual orientation. Rape is rape, end of story. It doesn’t correct or cure anything. It’s just a weapon to enforce patriarchy and imposed gender norms. Moreover,  all of these attempts to categorize rape (“corrective”, date rape, spousal rape, etc.) are just ways to try to lessen the violent reality.

These homophobic hate crimes exemplify how our society pathologizes and criminalizes queerness. If you’re not straight, not only must you be punished for it but there’s also obviously something wrong with you that needs to be corrected (Aha! By raping you! That oughta teach you!) The idea that lesbianism is an illness is not new. It was pathologized as a medical illness until 1973, but the stigmatization did not end there.

What’s more, if you look at the “Femail today” side bar of the article on the Daily Mail page, you will see links like:

- “So exactly why ARE you dating Madonna, Jesus? Mr. Luz’s younger (and prettier) ex-girlfriends revealed”

- “Sarah Jessica Parker’s looking good…but there’s no disguising her veiny hands”

- “Trinny, no longer quite so skinny (looks like she’s been down on the gym)”

When juxtaposed alongside an article about rape, “Femail today” just belittles rape and goes to show how women who aren’t feminine enough or don’t do feminine right are overly scrutinized, humiliated and punished. Women are vilified for being old (because apparently old = ugly), not thin enough, being lesbians and overall just not conforming to societal demands of femininity.