Maybe that's the whole point.

I don't understand what the t-shirt wearing is really trying to say when they put this on, and I'm not sure letting every stranger you meet on the street that you've been raped truly advances awareness of the issue.

Putting something this serious and real on a t-shirt cheapens the message IMHO.

People think that they can take the sting out of being a victim by referring to victim's as "survivors" or having them publicly tell their story. It's all nonsense, imo. Victims are victims. We have all been victims of something or other in our life, and it's better to simply acknowlege that something bad happened (rape, abuse, swindle), take control of any part of it that we can (jail criminals, be more careful, learn about swindlers), and move on with our lives. Otherwise, we end up being trapped in the past, unable to move beyond our victimhood because we are unwilling to accept it. "Living well is the best revenge" is usually the only triumph we can have in life.

There was a kid in high school who I looked up to who had a shirt that said "Don't assume I'm gay" on the front and "don't assume I'm not" on the back. I also have a rather burly male friend who sports a "this is what a feminist looks like" tee. Both of these shirts had an impact on me and started many interesting conversations.

I like the idea of this shirt a lot, but I too balk at it. Part of the power of the "don't assume" shirt is that it undoes some assumptions, rather than confirms or disconfirms them. I'm not sure "I could have been raped" really makes for a more successful version, but there might be a kernal of something more emotionally balanced in there. I do think bringing the dialog to everyday life through a tee can be a great step towards de-mystification, and rape certainly needs that.

Of people who try to put shocking things on T-Shirts. Maybe it comes from being one of those kids who tried to push the envelope with his shirts in high school, but I tend to look at people who wear shirts like that as desparate for attention. Anytime I've actually engaged someone in conversation over a shirt slogan I've been let down.

I don't particularly care for either of these T-shirts, but the "I was raped T-shirt" much more meaningful in its message than the "I had an abortion" T-shirt. The reason being is that the act of wearing the rape t-shirt can be a demonstration of the woman's refusal to be ashamed of herself because of the rape, and also raises awareness of just how common rape is on.

The "I had an abortion" t-shirt bothers me for this main reason: The Roe vs. Wade decision was made on the constitutional basis of Right to Privacy, which means that an abortion is a woman's private matter that she should only have to discuss with her doctor and no one else can or should be able to interfere with that decision. The t-shirt is offensive because it implies that society at large should be privvy to a woman's reproductive choices, which flies in the face of Roe vs. Wade. It's just not anyone's business!

Art striving to shock too often fails to either shock or be good art.

Besides, is this design particularly shocking or revealing? It seems as likely to be worn by those who haven't been raped but wish to make an artistic, political, or artistic statement.

No no, if you wish to make a statement, may I suggest a tee-shirt emlazoned with "I am a rapist."

For some reason, the only person I can imagine wearing this t-shirt (or the abortion one) is a frat boy trying to be hip, ironic, clever.

Doesnt seem like a good idea for a shirt.

I'm trying to imagine how wearing the t-shirt would a) help the wearer or b) raise the level of awareness. I don't think it will do either. And, personally, I think it's a rather lame attempt at both. "I was raped and all I got was this lousy t-shirt." Let's really talk to people about rape. Let's really inform and educate. Let's not rely on something that could end up on an end-cap at Urban Outfitters.

Done that? Got the t-shirt?

There are many truths in this world that I would just rather not know.

Give the $25.00 to a rape crisis center. Who needs another good cause t-shirt?

It's about the fact that both being raped and having an abortion are things that women are made to feel shame over. When you think about it, victims of robberies, murders, assaults are not kept secret because the assumption from society is that they didn't do anything wrong. They were the VICTIMS of the crime, not the perpetrators. It's a completely different story with rape victims. It's a thin line. In order to protect them, rape victims are not reported on, are not named, are kept in secret. The problem with that is that it leads people to believe there is a culture of shame associated with being raped. With other crimes, we know it's not the victims fault. With rape, society still wonders if she "asked for it" somehow. And if you make victims feel like there is a reason to hide they've been raped, they will feel like something shameful happened to them. This is one of the reasons rape is so underreported.

the point of this shirt, like the abortion shirt, is to say that you're not ashamed of what's happened. It's not to advertise, it's to try and open a dialogue. It's so people can't look away and pretend they don't know women's rights are being assaulted every day.

Imagine if rape, abortion, abuse--imagine if they weren't statistics. Imagine if every person who said stupid things about them knew as they opened their mouths that the raped woman, the abused spouse, the woman who had an abortion was their mother, sister, friend.

I don't think anybody should *have* to tell people, obviously. But I think that saying something definitely changes how other people look at the issue. It's harder to say "why didn't she just leave if her husband beat her" when you know that your good friend went through that. It's harder to say that only bad girls need abortions when you know your daughter had one. Only when these things aren't secret do people really start to get that these aren't other people's problems. These are problems that impact all of us.