I have a huge problem with this. This translates to, “I figured a guy with a rape fantasy wouldn’t have qualms about lying to women, willfully and knowingly violating consent, and refusing women the sovereignty of their own bodies.” This is personally offensive, and more importantly, broadly implicating of men who enjoy rape fantasies.
This is what ‘rape culture’ means. It doesn’t mean ‘all men are rapists’. It doesn’t mean ‘a culture in which men think rape is acceptable’. Rape culture isn’t just about rape or sexual assault. It means taking a cavalier approach to things like consent and objectification. It means relegating women to being afterthoughts in the periphery of a singularly male narrative. It means that the kind of attitude put forth in this brief conversation are shrugged off, seen as normal, and met without reproach.
We need to actively push back against this stuff when it happens. We need to call it out and confront people instead of keeping silent, not wanting to be ‘that guy’, or trying to avoid a scene. You don’t have to be an activist. Just don’t be a bystander.
