Have you ever watched a movie that you hoped was fictional because the events were so horrible and unbelievable? Netflix is airing Unbelievable with an unbelievable plot based on a true story. The events viewers see in the film actually happened. The Netflix film is a miniseries with only eight episodes based on an article by The Marshall Project and ProPublica, An Unbelievable Story of Rape, as well as an episode of NPR's This American Life. Most viewers watch all the episodes at once because they are eager to find out how the series ends.

Have you ever Googled "What do women want?" I have. It's a little disconcerting. Because, despite the fact that I didn't put the words "in a man" in my search, the first page of results came up with articles with titles like "What do women want in a man?" and "10 Things Men Wish Women Knew About Sex" (Guess what, we probably already know them. In fact, there are probably more than 10 things WOMEN wish men knew about sex).

In this day and age, we need to relearn what consent is. In the Netflix show 13 Reasons Why, one of the main characters (Bryce) said: "I could tell she wanted it and she didn't exactly say no." That's such a young guy way of thinking, and some men never grow out of that. They can't wrap their minds around why women don't want sex with them all the time. Men also don't understand why women don't want sex to be the focus of a relationship. You will not die if you don't get sex when you want it. Not every girl is going to want you... shocker, I know. Now I know not all men think the way I just described. There are decent men out there. It's not just men that need to learn about consent either, we all do.

It happened to me about 4 years ago. I just got out of my first relationship and I went back on a popular dating site (I won't name it because it may not want to be associated with this). About a week later I started to talk to a guy who lived about 30 or 45 minutes away. This new guy and I met a few days later. It went well but at the end of the night he touched me and I didn't stop him. I think that's where the ball started to roll in his head about what he would do next to me. So we saw each other the next day at a park near my house. At dark we sat in my car talking. One of the last things he did was touch me down there; I wanted it so that wasn't the assault. This is going to sound weird, but I think when I consented he thought my consent overrode the times I would say no. At this point it all seemed normal. I felt like I found a good guy.

The African National Congress Women's League has called for few recommendations on how sexual offenders should be dealt with. The recommendations include: life imprisonment without parole, no bail, and chemical castration.

A bare stage. Slowly, a single pool of light to the far left side lights up. It is a perfect circle. Gradually, the intensity of the light brightens, threatening to blind us for a moment until it dims down to tolerance. We wait for a minute until a second pool of light comes up in line with the first on the right side of the stage. This does the same as the first light, brightening with much intensity but then returns to tolerance. Finally, the last pool of light glows in between the others far upstage and center, to reveal the silhouette of A NAKED MAN standing in a tub of water. His back is turned to us. The NAKED MAN can be a father, a brother, a lover, a rapist, or a photographer. We don’t know. What we do know is that the light he is in doesn’t get brighter. It just obeys the laws of darkness, and is barely lit, leaving the man in an uncomfortable night. From stage left, A GIRL walks in backwards, holding an empty leash in her left hand and a basket in the other. She seems to be looking for something, or searching for someone—perhaps the animal that belongs on the leash, or the food that belongs in the basket. This too, we do not know. What we do know is that the basket is white, and the leash is white with red. Both were made to be white, but a crimson design lives on the collar of the leash. The crimson is blood. A GIRL steps into the first stage left pool of light, and blinks eight times in an attempt to clear her vision. She inhales deeply. The sound of her inhale is magnified, and the tiny breath can be heard from six directions. A DRUNK enters from upstage, passes the NAKED MAN, and joins the GIRL, dressed in an elegant evening gown made of green silk. Her wet hair hangs on her cheeks, and she appears to be very pregnant, stretching the delicate fabric too thin around her swollen belly. The two speak.

While most people don't think of Major Kira when they think of feminism, I honestly think she should be one of the first examples. It's almost as if her brand of feminism is too quiet, too earned, too perfect. Her lack of struggles in this area make it seem like maybe her society is just the same as every other. With the deeply problematic history of Star Trek, in terms of the sexualization of women and even their mistreatment in some scenes, it also isn't surprising that Star Trek is not the first place that people look for feminist messages. So, why do I make this argument? Well, read on to find out more.

I don’t talk about true crime extensively on this blog, but I’d like to. It’s an important topic that can honestly say a lot more about the audience and fanbase than the crimes and criminals themselves. And I think this post about why I take interest in this unsavory topic in the first place is a good way to open the door for future conversation.

To the guy that sexually assaulted me,