Background: I discussed the recent controversy over the feminist "1 in 4 college women are raped" myth in my recent blog post 'It’s a lonely job, working the phones at a college rape crisis center...you wait for the casualties to show up but no one calls'. I noted that "the ladies at www.Feministing.com have responded with boiling rage and obscenities, without attempting to factually critique Mac Donald's research and arguments. The Feministing blog post is LA Times: What rape crisis?.

I also discussed the issue in my blog posts 'I was on the board of the women's resource center. I didn't agree with the annual 'Take Back the Night' program proclaiming the victimhood of women' and Feminist Is Outraged That Men Like Sexy, Scantily-Clad Women.

In It’s a lonely job, working the phones at a college rape crisis center...you wait for the casualties to show up but no one calls', I wrote:

"Heather Mac Donald's recent column What campus rape crisis? Promiscuity and hype have created a phony epidemic at colleges (2/24/08) debunks the commonly propagated myth that one out of every four or five college women will be victims of rape or attempted rape. I don't agree with everything she says about modern college sex culture or the rape research, but her central premise--that a fake rape crisis has been whipped up against hapless, ever-vilified college boys--is correct...

"I make the following offer--if anybody at www.feministing.com or any other feminist has written or would like to write a critique of Mac Donald's article, I will publish it here. If anyone would like to take me up on this, please contact me at glenn@glennsacks.com."

A feminist activist named Rachel decided to take me up on my offer, sending me the letter below:

"I just wanted to point out that there is already at least one published well-written, well-argued response to Heather MacDonald's atrocious Los Angeles Times article, and it can be found here. There is also a thorough response at the blog The Curvature, located here.  If you would keep your end of the deal and publish these responses that would be fantastic."

The two articles Rachel refers to are:

Wrong on rape by Nora Niedzielski-Eichner (Los Angeles Times, 2/27/08)

LA Times: Women Should Stop Bitching About the Rape that Doesn’t Actually Happen by Cara Kulwicki of the feminist blog The Curvature.

I would prefer to put both articles directly on my page in their entirety, as opposed to links, if the authors give me permission. If either one would, I can be reached at glenn@glennsacks.com. If any feminist readers have other articles on the controversy they think worthy, feel free to send me the links.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 at 10:36 am and is filed under Feminism/NOW, Women's Studies, Rape/Sexual Assault/Statutory Rape. You can trackback from your own site.