“Until rape is taken seriously… No movement is going to fix it anyway.” – Lindsay Lace
Interview with a Model (Part 1)
Interview By: Chloe Sutherland
Interview Subject: Lindsay Lace (name may be changed to protect subject)
Age: 19
Profession: Model
Favorite Color: Purple
Chloe: #metoo movement, how men say it effects them
Lindsay: I have a friend that says he raped them. It’s gone all the way to trial. I know that’s no excuse for he didn’t rape anyone, but if you look at the circumstances, and they did the rape kit, they didn’t find anything. He’s dumb but not that dumb. It gives women a platform for trauma victims to speak, but some women do absolutely abuse the system when they weren’t even apart of it. Until rape is taken seriously… No movement is going to fix it anyway.
Chloe: #sexstrike?
Lindsay: That very conveniently went full circle.
Chloe: How do you mean?
Lindsay: The #sexstrike is stupid because it’s giving lawmakers exactly what they want… If we (women) don’t have sex, we can’t get pregnant. The point of the #sexstrike should be we need more options for birth control and sex education or prenatal health care and post natal health care.
Chloe: The newly coined term “Consensual rape” in Missouri
Lindsay: I have a question about that. The definition of rape is “un-consensual, forceful”… (etc) so, nobody has been able to explain to me how this is, so as far as I’m concerned it’s fake news
Chloe: Did you see the video?
Lindsay: I saw the video of the signing, but not the speech.
Chloe: The video of the speech before the signing the guy said, as entering into law – the definition – consensual rape is where the two people know each other, not the “jump out of the bushes rapists” – which most people think of, which in the eyes of the law, should now be considered real rape. If they know each other well enough to get close enough… She clearly consented. In my opinion, (Chloe’s) this is damaging because 80% of rapes occur by someone the victim knows.
Lindsay: Most of the time rapes occur by someone you know…
It’s a dad or uncle or a cousin. It’s a date that took it too far or a guy at a party who sees a drunk girl. Now women aren’t safe. It’s basically legalizing rape.
Chloe: Your opinion on the Fetal heartbeat laws passing
Lindsay: What most of these bills call a fetal heartbeat isn’t actually a heartbeat. It’s a group of cells with an electrical activity nothing more, nothing less. This 3-4 millimeter long semi organized group of cells doesn’t even have a cardiac system at this stage of gestation. It’s not human. It’s not even a plant. The mold growing on your cheese in the back of your fridge is larger and has more life than your 6 week electrical pulse.
Scientists keep developing ways to detect this electrical pulse earlier and earlier to the point it can detect electric activity in a tiny rudimentary group of cells. It’s simply a prerequisite for future viability but in no way an indication of “aliveness”.
The word heartbeat in these bills is an intentional attempt to spark rage and outcry, attaching humanity and emotion to something that otherwise wouldn’t be a cause for concern. The usage of fetal cardiac activity for policy-making is an attempt to ban abortions without outright banning them, since most women don’t even know they’re pregnant until after six weeks. For most women, six weeks in is slightly irregular, if not completely normal
Chloe: Did you hear, Celebrities pulling out of Georgia for filming?
Lindsay: Do it. I say do it. I understand that it will have a effect on the economy, but having peaceful protests won’t get the bill looked at again. Banning abortion won’t ban abortion, it’ll just ban safe abortion. I think this will get people to pay attention. Georgia is the new Hollywood. I completely agree with it. Which sucks more the economy going down or me not having my rights? I’m still questioning my legality if I was to get pregnant and leave to have a abortion in Alabama, how would they prosecute me?
Chloe: What do you think about all these Abortion laws passing?
Lindsay: A fetus is such a convenience to fight for because it does not have a voice and you don’t have to do anything for.
Chloe: Isn’t it against the law to take from a person without their consent by touching or taking from their body? Even when it comes to medical procedures or treatment?
Lindsay: yes it is illegal to take from a person without their consent. You can’t even take from a person that’s died. If they’re not an organ donor, you can’t use their organs.
Chloe: So, due to body autonomy, If you can’t take from a corpse (including but not limited to blood transfers) to save a child who is injured or dying, why do people think they have rights over the female form or embryos as long as they are womb-bound?
Lindsay: I think people decide they have a right to embryos and women’s bodies as a form of control. It’s also an easy target. It has no moral obligation and no responsibility of the public. If people were really pro life, they would make sure the woman had proper prenatal care, foster care wouldn’t be having the crisis it’s having, adoption wouldn’t be as expensive as IVF.
Chloe: How will this effect Sexual harassment at work?
Lindsay: I honestly don’t know what these laws will do, more or less. It hasn’t been in play long enough in my opinion. I have, however, experienced sexual harassment at work. In the past women had grounds to say something, with the #metoo movement coming to a close. Now it’s why do you block them, then I have no way what’s going on? I don’t have proof. The only person who has evidence is the person who sent it. This goes back to human trafficking when you go to the cops and they tell you they can’t do anything until the perpetrator does something to you or crosses a line. Now you have the consensual rape laws… Which means lawmakers don’t understand how rape works I guess? You don’t slip and fall and the dick slides into someone you know.
Chloe: How do you think this will effect sexual harassment/assault At home with so many blended families these days?
Lindsay: I don’t think it’ll cause the number of people to increase so much as the number of assaults. Due to the fact that now they get a pass on their behavior. In the state of Georgia, if you are married it’s not considered rape.
Chloe: Raping wives? Raping your children, step children? It seems like we are moving as a country in this direction, do you see any way of this? Or what are your thoughts?
Lindsay: Lawmakers seem to make this such a complex issue, when it’s really not.
NO means no. It’s not, what is she wearing or did her answer change, or how many drinks… Rape isn’t a English language, it’s EVERYONE’S language. It’s not something that needs all these conditions. It’s sex, it’s simply Yes or No. It can start as a yes and end with a no. It’s a violation of a person’s rights. It’s plain and simple. It’s her body or his body or their body.
Chloe: Casual sexual assault in college or classroom?
Lindsay: Definitely college! I’m one of those people who definitely is oblivious to it at this point. I was leaving the Rockefeller Center and got lost and asked a cop for directions. He got all “Only if you don’t tell my wife.”
I didn’t notice, but my friend was so skeeved out. It’s getting so out of hand, this rape stuff. What if he raped me and then tried to play consensual rape? We didn’t know each other… Uh, oh, we talked for 5 minutes, but that’s not knowing each other.
*Fake argument-
But you could have consented in that time!
Could I? In 5-minutes? It takes me 5-minutes to decide to have sex with a total stranger? *
This is opening the door to a whole mess of things. Why isn’t “that’s not the right thing to do?” the forethought to- “I’ll go to jail” Not being the first thing people are thinking of? Because now that people won’t go to jail, it won’t even be a question. It’s giving the wrong message to future generations entirely.
Chloe: On the internet, how do you feel this is being taken?
Lindsay: I have friends on both sides. I have never met anyone who is pro life. I could never imagine getting an abortion, but I support others right to get one. Even if I would never get one or many others wouldn’t, I and many other pro choice people would never make those decisions for anyone else. It’s basic health care. Those aren’t decisions for a lawmaker.
Chloe: It being commonplace to have relationships these days where you don’t see or touch your partner because you have relationships totally online and many relationships exist for years like this, do you feel that these abortion laws are over dramatic?
Lindsay: I wouldn’t say over-dramatic, at some point that child can live out of the body and live and breathe and exist outside.
I agreed with the 20 weeks abortion laws, why did we have to change it?
Chloe: Effects on relationships over the abortion issue?
Lindsay: I follow all of this based on my faith, but in terms of other people, I feel they should be able to choose how they feel morally. My belief on it is they should be able to have healthy sexual relationships. To do that they need sex education and birth control and control over their lives and those relationships. I feel these new laws restrict being social, being sexual, birth control, having safe mental health care. I can think of so many instances where it’s not okay to have a kid and this is creating a fire for those situations to bloom.
Chloe: Netflix and chill, is having people actually Netflix and chilling now instead of a code for sex – did you hear?
Lindsay: Yeah that’s totally a thing now… Even I’ve done it. It quite literally means it’s now no longer implied.
Chloe: Because of Netflix and chill, the global Birthrate is dropping because while people are connected mentally, they aren’t physically connected.. Leads to porn?
Lindsay: In terms of needing to replace ourselves, we are facing a major population crisis but we need to fix the planet crisis. For instance – carbon dioxide levels by the year 2030 will be irreversible. Essentially we will be the cause of ourselves going extinct… But we are facing a population crisis?? We are facing poverty, mortality, and overpopulation – we are just going to keep pushing, all to maintain being in power. The power struggle between states and countries is so deep, everyone is willing to sacrifice to stay in charge. The part of not physically connecting has to do with the way we connect as humans, that we have so many electronic connections, that we simply aren’t connecting anymore.
Chloe: How does this (porn) propel sex trafficking?
Lindsay: I think it propels sex trafficking because it absolves them of responsibility. You can have the physical, without the emotional. There’s no talking or caring. It’s a “get in and get out.” Now you no longer have to worry about the responsibility of having a relationship.
Chloe: Porn leads to wanting to chase the fantasy because they can have any fantasy?
Lindsay: It’s a “build-a bear” for a relationship.
Chloe: Leads to distortion of reality? Porn or sex trafficking for a physical relationship and emotional relationship with a partner?
Lindsay: You can design anything! You have to take someone as they are, it’s emotional at home and physical at your fingertips. When you have a kid and it’s not as pretty as the media told you it would be.
I’m a world full of selfish people who all there life went ME, Now they have to think about someone else.
Chloe: Do you think these relationships are being built around the abortion laws?
Lindsay: Not yet. But I do imagine that soon when they go into play in 2020 they will change they heavily. What if something you considered healthy becomes a lifelong commitment that you have to instead of lovingly wanted to?
Chloe: How do you think kids growing up with these laws in place will be influenced?
Lindsay: Kids will be kids, but kids have sexual relationships too. That age (what age) keeps getting younger and younger. I’ve said it before, I think that limiting abortion isn’t limiting abortion, its limiting safe abortion.
Chloe: Do you feel like that will carry on, for instance – child support and all, if the 2 young kids can’t get a abortion? Like if they are too young and the boy lives at home, his parents should have to pay?
Lindsay: The complications of that are so beyond! At the end of the day, I feel the responsibility is on the parents (of the boy) . The boy should still pay child support, whether he gets a job or his parents help, I do agree that he should have to pay child support. Just because, if and or Nothing, even if you are under age it does not make the responsibility any less of the mother and the father equally.
Chloe: Do you feel safe as a woman?
Lindsay: I avoid certain neighborhoods, I take a male friend with me certain places. I don’t stop at gas stations at night. I have a dog who barks. Even if I’m traveling, I won’t go somewhere I’m unfamiliar with no matter how badly I want to go, if it’s late at night or I have nobody to go with. I have a “Safeguard App”. I also keep weapons in my car. I let people know where I’m going to be,especially when I go on a date if I don’t know the person.
I personally do (feel safe). But I feel like that has to do with my education on human trafficking and knowing where to go and not go. I know how to handle sexual assault and harassment. I don’t know if that’s my neighborhood (feeling more safe) ? Or if reflectively I have taken so many measures, as a woman, to make sure I Am Safe.
If that’s the standard of safety we as a nation are epicly failing.
I can see how others would not feel safe though, one time this woman came up and hugged me in a group of friends and asked me desperately to pretend to “know her” so I called her “Rachel” and spent as long as it took (until this guy went away) pretending we knew her, her whole life. We even escorted her after to her destination.
Chloe: What is next for women in general?
Lindsay: A fight like hell.
