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I think it goes without saying that this conversation would be proceeding very differently, were it not for the two conversations that preceded it.
I've often seen statements asserting what "real men" and "real women" do and don't do. Real men don't cry, real men know how to change a tire, real men appreciate a good single malt whisky. Real women have curves, real women don't pump gas, real women don't enjoy anal. As with any variation of the No True Scotsman fallacy, the question is raised: what, exactly, are the people who fall outside of the prescribed requirements?
If someone or something that otherwise would be referred to as a woman is deemed insufficiently curvaceous (say, due to anorexia, or chemotherapy, or some form of metabolic disorder), then we have to ask what she is, if not a "real woman". If we deny her femininity, are we asserting that she is a man, or some sort of nongendered adult? If we deny her adulthood, are we asserting that, regardless of her age, she is to be treated like a child? If we deny her humanity, is she some form of skinny bipedal livestock?
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0309-------------------------------------
(Saturday afternoon, INT: hallway outside EB and JH's apartment)
JH: I'm sorta in a weird position here. On the one hand, I really don't want to rape anybody. That would be monstrous. On the other hand, though, I... well... I kinda think I could take you.
LH: Disgusting. That is truly disgusting, that you feel the need to say that. Does the male ego know no bounds?
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JH: It's not a male ego thing at all! I happen to think that any able-bodied person, given sufficient perversion, motivation and prep-time, is capable of raping any other human being. The potential ubiquity of the crime is part of the horror.
LH: Women don't rape men, though.
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JH: I grant you they're statistical outliers...
LH: Real women don't rape men.
JH: Oh, real women don't rape men? Really? So are you denying their femininity, their adulthood, or their humanity?
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LH: What?
JH: A "woman" is defined as a female adult human. So, if rapists aren't really women, are you saying they're not really female, they're not really adults, or they're not really human?
LH: I will select whichever option gets me out of this conversation.
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