We all have moments in life that change us. Car accidents, deaths, sickness, etc. Hell, if I was to make a T-Shirt with every bad thing that happened to me, I would have a nice stack of shirts that's for sure. The question is "Would I wear them?" Probably not all of them.
These days, it is so common to find a shirt with some rediculous saying, or word on it. I'm guilty of it, "People like you are the reason people like me need medication" is one of my favorites. Why I like it? Because A) It's funny and B) It is somewhat true.
Which leads me to the rape shirt.
The words "I was raped." displayed across the front could easily be taken as a joke. Which would be taking the idea behind the shirt in the completely wrong direction. Women and men who live with this secret inside their heads may want to take baby steps out of the "closet" so to speak. They should not be ashamed of what happened, but society and it's levels of immaturity make that sometimes impossible. Walking down the street, 10 different people could see the same shirt and take 10 different meanings away from it. 9 of which would be completely inaccurate, I'm sure.
My shirt for example, I'm sure people look at it and laugh. Don't get me wrong, that is part of what the intention is, for me anyways. But probably next to no one would guess that there is a high level of truth to the shirt. "People like you..." = large groups and social situations, "...are the reason people like me..." = An individual diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder. "...need medication" = anti-anxiety meds as well as anti-depressants. This is my way of showing that I do suffer, but I'm not ashamed of it. Nor should I be.
Now this is going off on a tangent, but it is just my way of connecting with someone who would want to wear a shirt that says "I was raped" it's kind of a non-verbal acknowledgement to society that it happened. It's true when they say it feels better to just say it rather than let it stew inside your head until it causes a complete meltdown. But it is just a risky way of saying it. There is no context, no backstory. People wouldn't know if it was a joke or not, nor how to approach the person. If I saw someone with that shirt, I would question myself whether or not they are serious. Sometimes, it's just hard to tell.
I don't know it any of this makes sense, but it's how I feel about it at 9 am in the morning. I understand the idea, I respect those brave enough to wear it, but I also acknowledge that with something as sensitive as this, the risk may be just as big as the reward, considering the world we live in and the mindsets we live amongst.
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