I’m angry. No. I’m positively fuming. I’m so outraged and frustrated by what I’ve just heard two young women say that I’m sorely tempted to sear my ears shut with a red-hot poker.

I was milling around a shop floor looking for something to wear to a party when I came across this dynamic duo, holding up some short shorts and loudly exclaiming that it’s little wonder women get raped if they choose to wear such attire.

They made their horrific statement while smiling and giggling as if butter wouldn’t melt and in my horror, I just gasped. I mean, what could possibly motivate such a statement?

For the millionth time, nothing causes rape except for rapists

I want to believe that these two silly girls were just that and didn’t really mean what they were saying, but the truth is, I know better. Despite the fact that we rant and rave about the emancipation of women and how the number of female university students is far higher than that of males, the truth is that for many, this is merely a veneer as thinly worn as the aforementioned flippant and intrinsically wrong statement. Then again, in a culture such as ours, can we expect better?

I’ve read article upon article by women’s rights groups about how white, male privilege is something that should be resisted at all costs, yet many times in our rush to pin the tail on any donkey, we’ve ignored what’s right underneath our noses: women who actually believe that you can somehow earn the right to be violated by virtue of what you choose to wear.

I can’t believe that in 2017, I’m still having this conversation but apparently, I’m being forced too.

For the millionth time, nothing causes rape except for rapists. You could be wearing a banana skirt and coconut shells on your chest while dancing the hula under a full moon and no one would have the right to touch you without your permission. Women wearing jeans and a T-shirt have exactly the same probability of being raped as women wearing a bikini, the only difference is the unfortunate set of circumstances they find themselves in. It’s almost like saying that a bank deserves to be robbed because it’s where all the money is.

I will conclude by sending a message to all the young women out there who have allowed themselves to take up the belief that they need to fit their personal tastes and attire choices to the dictates of rape culture: how about you don’t tell others how to dress and expect more from the culture, society and country you live in?

Why should men be held to different ethical standards than we are?

My clothes aren’t my consent and yours shouldn’t be either.